Mercer Arena, previously known as the Exposition Building, the Civic Ice Arena and Seattle Center Arena, is a performing arts venue located at the corner of Mercer Street Fourth Avenue North in Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

. It was built in 1912 next door to the Seattle Civic Auditorium (where the Seattle Opera House

McCaw Hall

The Marion Oliver McCaw Hall is a performance hall and opera house, located in Seattle, Washington. Inaugurated in June 2003, it was constructed within the basic steel support structure of the earlier Seattle Opera House, originally created for the World's Fair in 1962 and gutted for this...

 is now located), as part of the $1 million Seattle Center

Seattle Center

Seattle Center is a park and arts and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington. The campus is the site used in 1962 by the Century 21 Exposition. It is located just north of Belltown in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood.-Attractions:...

. The venue predates Seattle Center Coliseum

KeyArena

KeyArena at Seattle Center , is a multipurpose arena, in Seattle, Washington. It is located north of downtown in the entertainment complex known as Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, the Century 21 Exposition...

 by about 35 years.

Origins and usage as a venue (1928-2003)

Initially conceived as an ice-arena, the facility eventually became a large multi-purpose venue. It was nicknamed "the House of Suds" because of the large underwriting contribution of local tavern owner, James Osborne. The name changed to Seattle Center Arena after the Century 21 Exposition

Century 21 Exposition

The Century 21 Exposition was a World's Fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962 in Seattle, Washington.Nearly 10 million people attended the fair...

 (1962 World's Fair

World's Fair

World's fair, World fair, Universal Exposition, and World Expo are various large public exhibitions held in different parts of the world. The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom, in 1851, under the title "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All...

). In 1995 the name changed again, to the Mercer Arena, due to its location on Mercer Street. In general, the Arena was home to the Seattle Totems

Seattle Totems

The Seattle Totems were a professional ice hockey franchise in Seattle, Washington. They were a member of various minor professional and semi-professional leagues between 1945 and 1975. They played their home games in the Mercer Arena and later at the Seattle Center Coliseum...

 from 1962-75, the first home of the Seattle Thunderbirds

Seattle Thunderbirds

The Seattle Thunderbirds are a junior ice hockey team based in Kent, a suburb of Seattle, Washington. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Hockey League, and play in the ShoWare Center...

 from 1985-94 (with Seattle Center Coliseum) and 1994-95 (by itself), the Seattle SeaDogs

Seattle SeaDogs

The Seattle SeaDogs are a defunct indoor soccer team that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League from 1995 to 1997. They won the last CISL championship in 1997.-History:...

 1995, the ABL

ABL

ABL is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* Abl gene, an oncogene associated with chronic myelogenous leukemia* Abetalipoproteinemia, a rare genetic disorder...

's Seattle Reign

Seattle Reign

The Seattle Reign was the first women's professional basketball franchise in Seattle, Washington. The Reign was a charter member of the American Basketball League . The team played from 1996 through 1998...

 from 1996-98, and a temporary venue for Seattle Opera

Seattle Opera

The Seattle Opera is an opera company located in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross, who served as the company's first general director through 1983, Seattle Opera's season runs from August to late May, with five or six operas offered and with eight to ten performances each, often...

 from 2000-03 before sitting dormant.

Until recently, its large, flexible spaces allowed an average of 183 events each year. From 1962 until 1975 it was first home to the Seattle Totems

Seattle Totems

The Seattle Totems were a professional ice hockey franchise in Seattle, Washington. They were a member of various minor professional and semi-professional leagues between 1945 and 1975. They played their home games in the Mercer Arena and later at the Seattle Center Coliseum...

 of the old professional WHL

Western Hockey League (minor pro)

The Western Hockey League was a minor pro ice hockey league that operated from 1952 to 1974. Managed for most of its history by Hockey Hall of Fame member Al Leader, it was created out of the merger of the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Canada Senior Hockey League...

 and then the Seattle Thunderbirds

Seattle Thunderbirds

The Seattle Thunderbirds are a junior ice hockey team based in Kent, a suburb of Seattle, Washington. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Hockey League, and play in the ShoWare Center...

 of the modern Western Hockey League

Western Hockey League

The Western Hockey League is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada...

. From 1996 to 1998, it was the home of the Seattle Reign

Seattle Reign

The Seattle Reign was the first women's professional basketball franchise in Seattle, Washington. The Reign was a charter member of the American Basketball League . The team played from 1996 through 1998...

, the city's first professional women's basketball franchise, a part of the American Basketball League (1996-1998)

American Basketball League (1996-1998)

The American Basketball League, often abbreviated to the ABL of 1996 was an independent professional basketball league for women in the United States. At the same time the ABL was being formed, the National Basketball Association was creating the Women's National Basketball Association...

. From 2000 to 2003, it was used as a temporary venue for the Seattle Opera

Seattle Opera

The Seattle Opera is an opera company located in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross, who served as the company's first general director through 1983, Seattle Opera's season runs from August to late May, with five or six operas offered and with eight to ten performances each, often...

 and Pacific Northwest Ballet

Pacific Northwest Ballet

Pacific Northwest Ballet is a ballet company based in Seattle, Washington in the United States. Founded in 1972 as part of the Seattle Opera and named the Pacific Northwest Dance Association, it broke away from the Opera in 1977 and took its current name in 1978. It is said to have the highest per...

 during construction of McCaw Hall

McCaw Hall

The Marion Oliver McCaw Hall is a performance hall and opera house, located in Seattle, Washington. Inaugurated in June 2003, it was constructed within the basic steel support structure of the earlier Seattle Opera House, originally created for the World's Fair in 1962 and gutted for this...

, the new opera house.

For concerts, it has a maximum capacity of 8,000 (or 5,000 in seats), an ideal niche between nightclubs and theaters, the largest of which seat a few thousand, and the much larger KeyArena, which seats more than 16,000. Also the Seattle Grunge band Nirvana played their final U.S show there on January 8th 1994 , three months before Kurt Cobain's suicide.

The building has sat dormant since 2003.

Redevelopment (2007-present)

On December 7, 2007, Mayor Greg Nickels announced a proposal to convert the arena into use by the Seattle Opera

Seattle Opera

The Seattle Opera is an opera company located in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross, who served as the company's first general director through 1983, Seattle Opera's season runs from August to late May, with five or six operas offered and with eight to ten performances each, often...

. The building will contain administrative offices, rehearsal spaces and workshops for the company. Sharing a common wall with McCaw Hall

McCaw Hall

The Marion Oliver McCaw Hall is a performance hall and opera house, located in Seattle, Washington. Inaugurated in June 2003, it was constructed within the basic steel support structure of the earlier Seattle Opera House, originally created for the World's Fair in 1962 and gutted for this...

, the arena would allow sets to be built within the workshop, then transported directly to the stage. This would be the first company in the world to have such an amenity. The revitalized building is planned to realize the developing goals of the Century 21 Committee, which will make recommendations to the City about enhancing future growth of Seattle Center. The arena will contain large amounts of windows to connect visitors visually with the many crafts which are brought together in a professional opera company. The proposal will be forwarded to the City Counsel for review.

With the proposed conversion to a facility for Seattle Opera, the revitalization of Mercer Arena will require much planning and investment. To begin, Mercer Arena will require millions of dollars in repairs, as well as an estimated $20 million dollars to modernize seismic protection and general life safety. Additional investment will be required to convert the spaces to their new functions. Prior to the most recent bid for reuse, several other opportunities were reviewed by the City. Live Nation

Live Nation

Live Nation is a live-events company based in Beverly Hills, California, focused on concert promotions. Live Nation formed in 2005 as a spin-off from Clear Channel Communications, which then merged with Ticketmaster in 2010 to become Live Nation Entertainment....

 (formerly Clear Channel Entertainment) has sought to lease the building for concert

Concert

A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...

s, up to 80 events per year, but would not pay for the necessary repairs and ongoing maintenance. If passed by the Council, the converted arena would cease to be a performance venue.