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Giant Center

Coordinates: 40°17′11″N 76°40′9″W / 40.28639°N 76.66917°W / 40.28639; -76.66917
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Giant Center
The Interior of Giant Center in May 2016
Giant Center is located in Pennsylvania
Giant Center
Giant Center
Location within Pennsylvania
Giant Center is located in the United States
Giant Center
Giant Center
Location within the United States
Address550 West Hersheypark Drive
LocationHershey, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Coordinates40°17′11″N 76°40′9″W / 40.28639°N 76.66917°W / 40.28639; -76.66917
OwnerDerry Township Industrial and Commercial Development Authority
OperatorHershey Entertainment and Resorts Company
Capacity12,500 (concerts)
10,500 (hockey)
Field size17,000 square feet (1,600 m2)
Construction
Broke groundNovember 8, 2000
OpenedOctober 15, 2002
Construction cost$65 million
($110 million in 2023 dollars[1])
ArchitectHOK Sport
Project managerReynolds Construction Management, Inc.[2]
Structural engineerCentury Engineering[3]
Services engineerSmith Seckman Reid, Inc.[4]
General contractorHunt/Whiting-Turner[5]
Tenants
Hershey Bears (AHL) 2002–present
Harrisburg Stampede (PIFL) 2014
Website
hersheyentertainment.com/giant-center

Giant Center (stylized as GIANT Center) is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to the Hershey Bears ice hockey team, the longest-existing member of the American Hockey League, operating since 1938. Giant Center replaced Hersheypark Arena as the Bears' home venue in 2002.

Giant Center is owned by the Derry Township Industrial and Commercial Development Authority, as much of the money for its construction was provided by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is operated by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company, with the naming rights owned by the Giant-Carlisle grocery store chain based in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Giant Center has 7,700 seats in the Lower Level and 2,800 seats in the Upper Level. The arena also has 688 club seats and 40 luxury suites. Wheelchair and companion seating is available on all levels.

Notable events

In addition to serving as the home arena for the Hershey Bears ice hockey team, Giant Center hosts an annual concert series and attracts well-known entertainers. Notable events and developments at Giant Center have included:

  • October 15, 2002: Cher held the first concert at Giant Center during her Living Proof: The Farewell Tour, which sold 9,406 tickets.
  • 2003: Giant Center held the WWE's Unforgiven.
  • October 28, 2008: Giant Center hosted the Road to Victory rally for Republican presidential candidate, John McCain, and his running mate, Sarah Palin.[6]
  • November 23, 2009: WWE Raw was held at Giant Center with a three-hour Thanksgiving themed episode, and returned for a three-hour Old School-themed episode on November 15, 2010. WWE has also held several episodes of Raw and WWE Friday Night SmackDown episodes at Giant Center.
  • January 30 and January 31, 2011: Giant Center hosted the 2011 American Hockey League All-Star Game and Skills Competition.
  • 2014: Giant Center hosted the Harrisburg Stampede of the Professional Indoor Football League.
  • 2015: Elizabethtown College hosted the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships at Giant Center.
  • 2015: Prior to the 2015-2016 Hershey Bears hockey season, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts made a $4.7 million upgrade to the production system, a new four-sided, center-hung HD scoreboard, a new LED standings board and a new LED fascia ribbon surrounding the bowl, manufactured by Daktronics. The new scoreboard's video screens measure 13.52 feet high and 23.92 feet wide.
  • October 1, 2016: Carrie Underwood appeared at Giant Center during her Storyteller Tour: Stories in the Round. The 360-degree angle of the stage stretched across the arena floor, providing all viewers with a good show. She returned on June 13, 2019, during her Cry Pretty Tour 360.
  • October 25, 2016: Giant Center hosted the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions.[7]
  • November 4, 2016: President Donald Trump held a 2016 campaign rally at Giant Center, which set an all-time attendance record for the arena, attended by 12,500 inside the facility and thousands more who watched on screens from the arena's parking lot.[8] On December 10, 2019, Trump returned to Giant Center for a campaign rally during the 2020 presidential campaign.[9]
  • December 28–31, 2023: Giant Center hosted Monster High Live.
  • June 24, 2024: The Hershey Bears set a franchise attendance record of 11,013 fans in Game 6 of the 2024 Calder Cup Finals. The game would go into overtime and lead to the Bears winning their 13th Calder Cup in franchise history.

Concerts

The arena has hosted a number of musical acts, including: Cher, Rush, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Tim McGraw, ZZ Top, Rod Stewart, Lynyrd Skynyrd, TobyMac, Third Day, Green Day, New Found Glory, Newsboys, Michael W. Smith, Josh Groban, Kelly Clarkson, Elton John, Fall Out Boy, Michael Bublé, Hilary Duff, The Who, Taylor Swift, George Strait, Little Big Town, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Justin Moore, Van Halen, Brad Paisley, Delirious?, Eagles, Theory of a Deadman, Mötley Crüe, New Kids on the Block, Jason Aldean, Skillet, Goo Goo Dolls, Meat Loaf, Flo Rida, Korn, Royal Tailor, Tenth Avenue North, Miranda Lambert, Chris August, Carrie Underwood, Fifth Harmony, Selena Gomez, For King & Country, Casting Crowns, Avenged Sevenfold, MKTO, Demi Lovato, Randy Houser, Gaither Vocal Band, Thomas Rhett, Florida Georgia Line, Wiz Khalifa, Alice Cooper, Lady A, Earth, Wind & Fire, Chicago, Charlie Puth, Slipknot, Phil Wickham, Five Finger Death Punch, Unspoken, Danny Gokey, Volbeat, Foreigner, Cheap Trick, Chris Stapleton, Amy Grant, Bethel Music, Social Club Misfits, Matthew West, Natalie Grant, Zach Williams, Tesla, Styx, Why Don't We, Dan + Shay, Ryan Stevenson, Jordan Feliz, Aaron Cole, We Are Messengers, Jon McLaughlin, 2Cellos, Alan Jackson, Kidz Bop, Disturbed, Pentatonix, Post Malone, Swae Lee, James Taylor, Ghost, JoJo Siwa, Toto, Journey, Melanie Martinez, Rick Astley, and Greta Van Fleet.

Photos of the arena

  • Panoramic View of Bears Game
    Panoramic View of Bears Game
  • Giant Center before the start of a game against the Lake Erie Monsters
    Giant Center before the start of a game against the Lake Erie Monsters
  • Front of Giant Center
    Front of Giant Center
  • Inside Giant Center from the ice
    Inside Giant Center from the ice

References

  1. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  2. ^ "GIANT Center". Reynolds Construction Management, Inc. Archived from the original on April 27, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  3. ^ "Giant Center Arena". Century Engineering. Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  4. ^ "Giant Center". Smith Seckman Reid, Inc. Archived from the original on March 8, 2004. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  5. ^ "Special Report: What's On Deck". SportsBusiness Journal. July 30, 2001. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  6. ^ Conroy, Scott (October 28, 2008). "Palin Makes 11th Visit to PA". CBS News. Retrieved October 28, 2008.
  7. ^ "2016 Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions takes center stage beginning Sept. 15". usagym.org. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  8. ^ "Inflation is one of the biggest risk to markets in 2022 and 2023: Northwestern Mutual Wealth MGMT. - the Union Journal". March 20, 2021.
  9. ^ Rupar, Aaron (December 11, 2019). "Trump's speech in Hershey revealed a presidency off the rails". Vox. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Giant Center.
Preceded by Home of the
Hershey Bears
2002–present 		Succeeded by
current
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