The Pensacola Civic Center is an indoor arena located in Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...

. It is owned by Escambia County

Escambia County, Florida

Escambia County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Florida. The 2010 population was 297,619. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county is 296,772. Its county seat is Pensacola.- History :...

 and operated by SMG Management. The Civic Center has a capacity of 8,150 for hockey games, and as much as 12,000 for non-hockey events. The arena contains 23000 square feet (2,136.8 m²) of space and 10000 square feet (929 m²) of meeting space.

Sporting events

The Civic Center opened in January 1985 and was used primarily as the home of the Pensacola Ice Pilots

Pensacola Ice Pilots

The Pensacola Ice Pilots were a minor league ice hockey team located in Pensacola, Florida. The team was previously affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders , and the Chicago Blackhawks. They have also had a working agreement with the Houston Aeros of the...

 hockey team until the team's exit from the ECHL

ECHL

The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...

 on June 23, 2008. However, hockey returned to the Civic Center in fall 2009 when the Pensacola Ice Flyers

Pensacola Ice Flyers

The Pensacola Ice Flyers are a team of the Southern Professional Hockey League, their first season was the 2009-10 season. Home games are played at the Pensacola Civic Center, previously home to the ECHL's Pensacola Ice Pilots from 1996 until their folding in 2008.The "Ice Flyers" name has a...

 of the Southern Professional Hockey League

Southern Professional Hockey League

The Southern Professional Hockey League is a low-level professional ice hockey league based in Charlotte, North Carolina, with teams located in the southeastern United States.- History :...

 began play. Other sem-pro teams have used the Civic Center as its home. From 2000 to 2002, the Pensacola Barracudas

Pensacola Barracudas

The Pensacola Barracudas were an AF2 team and one of the 15 original teams to join the inaugural 2000 AF2 season.Pensacola originally played in the National Conference and won its first five games en route to the playoffs before losing to the eventual undefeated champion Quad City...

 played in the af2

Af2

AF2 was the name of the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football rules and style of play. League seasons ran from April through July with the postseason and ArenaCup...

. In 1998, the Pensacola Flyers

Pensacola Flyers

The Pensacola Flyers were an indoor soccer team based in Pensacola, Florida. They played their games in the Pensacola Civic Center. They were members of the Eastern Indoor Soccer League and played in only the 1998 season...

 of the Eastern Indoor Soccer League

Eastern Indoor Soccer League

The Eastern Indoor Soccer League was an attempt to create a regional minor indoor soccer league. The league featured teams from the Southeastern United States...

 played for one season. Various sporting events have taken place at PCC, including wrestling and rodeos. It has also been the multiple-time home of the U.S. Roller Skating National Championships.

Concerts

KISS

KISS (band)

Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...

 was the first band to perform at the arena, and continues to make Pensacola a destination on its North American tours.

Perhaps the biggest concert ever at the PCC never took place, Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

 used the venue to rehearse for his Bad World Tour for nearly a month in 1987, but did not perform a public concert at the PCC. Many other large touring acts, including AC/DC

AC/DC

AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...

, Page & Plant, David Bowie

David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

, Rush

Rush (band)

Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...

 & Van Halen

Van Halen

Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...

 have used the PCC for pre-tour rehearsals in the past, thanks to the venue's relatively inexpensive rental rates and availability for extended occupation. Unlike Jackson, most acts play a full public show at the PCC before continuing with their tours.

On March 9, 1994, the Pensacola Civic Center hosted the largest Rock for Choice

Rock for Choice

Rock for Choice was a series of benefit concerts held over the ten year period between 1991 to 2001. The concerts were designed to allow musicians to show their support for the pro-choice movement in the United States and Canada....

 concert in history, which was organized by the band L7

L7 (band)

L7 was an American rock band from Los Angeles, that was active from 1985 to 2000. Due to their sound and image, they are often associated with the grunge movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s.-History:...

 and headlined by Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...

.

In March 2000, Britney Spears

Britney Spears

Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...

 kicked off her Crazy 2K Tour.

The largest attendance for a concert was over 12,000 for AC/DC in 1988 and Bon Jovi in 1989.

Springfest

Springfest

Springfest is a common name for events occurring to celebrate the coming of Spring.*Spring Fest , popularly known as SF, is the annual social & cultural festival held at Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India during the month of January in the spring semester.*Springfest is a common name...

, an annual music event in downtown Pensacola, used the arena in its final years.

Politics

The Pensacola Civic Center has also had various guest speakers, including President George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 in 2006. During the 2008 Presidential race

United States presidential election, 2008

The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...

, both Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin

Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...

 and Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States...

used the venue for political rallies as the November election drew close.