Honda Center

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Lore & Background

The concept for this arena began in 1987 when entertainment attorney Neil Papiano reportedly pitched his idea to city officials. Following location surveys, a seven-acre parcel at Douglass Road and Katella Avenue, then owned by the Phoenix Club, was chosen. Despite initial reluctance from the NBA and NHL to expand to the area and a competing Santa Ana project led by Spectacor, the city of Anaheim pushed forward with the Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, Inc.-designed facility, breaking ground in June 1990. Financial backing came from Ogden Corporation and Nederlander Organization. In 1992, the Walt Disney Company was awarded an NHL franchise for Anaheim, entering negotiations to lease the arena. Once that deal was broken, $18 million was added to finance hockey franchise fees and facility improvements, bringing the final cost to $123 million.

In Their Own Story

The arena opened its doors on June 19, 1993, with a Barry Manilow concert as its inaugural event. The Arrowhead Pond's first NHL game took place on October 8, 1993, featuring the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in their season opener against the Detroit Red Wings. A 20-minute pregame show costing $450,000 preceded the match, which ended in a 7–2 loss for the Ducks. The venue quickly became a hub for major events, hosting the Stanley Cup Finals in both 2003 and 2007. On June 6, 2007, the atmosphere peaked as the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Ottawa Senators 6–2 in Game 5 of the Final at Honda Center to secure their first Stanley Cup championship. The arena has also hosted UFC events starting with UFC 59 in 2006 and the 1999 Frozen Four, underscoring the region's growing love for hockey.

Reader's Guide

Fans attending games at the Honda Center experience a unique transformation of space; it takes only five hours to convert the arena from a sporting venue seating up to 17,174 for hockey into an 8,400-seat amphitheater. The building features 84 luxury suites and underwent significant upgrades in 2005, becoming the first in the U.S. to install two full levels of 360° ribbon displays using 1,800 feet of full-color LED technology by Daktronics. A new scoreboard debuted during a pre-season game against the Los Angeles Kings in the 2014–2015 season, replacing the unit that had been in place since 1993. The arena is situated northeast across California State Route 57 from Angel Stadium and roughly 3 miles from Disneyland Park. Operations are managed by Anaheim Arena Management, LLC, owned by Broadcom chairman Henry Samueli, who also owns the Ducks, allowing for flexible scheduling.

Did You Know?

• The arena opened with a Barry Manilow concert on June 19, 1993, two days after its originally scheduled opening date.
• The venue was initially called Anaheim Arena; the Arrowhead Pond naming rights were announced in June 1993, after the franchise was awarded in 1992.
• It takes only five hours to convert the Honda Center from a full-capacity hockey arena into an 8,400-seat amphitheater.
• In October/November 2020, the arena served as a drive-through voting location for the 2020 United States presidential election during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The arena hosted the Frozen Four in 1999, highlighting the popularity of hockey in the region despite being far from traditional cold-weather markets.

Origins and Development

The idea for a large indoor arena in Anaheim emerged from entertainment attorney Neil Papiano, who in 1987 randomly selected two of the city's councilmen from the telephone directory to sell them his idea. They approved the concept, and one year later following location surveys, the placement was chosen at a seven-acre parcel at Douglass Road and Katella Avenue, that at the time was owned by the German social group Phoenix Club. Papiano also managed to get financial backing from two New York-based firms, Ogden Corporation and Nederlander Organization. Even if there was a dispute to build an arena in Orange County with a Santa Ana project led by Spectacor, and there were discussions of feasibility of the arena given the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League were at the time unwilling to expand to the area, the city of Anaheim pushed forward to build the Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, Inc.-designed arena, which broke ground in November 1990. A tenant was found in 1992, as the Walt Disney Company had just been awarded an NHL franchise for Anaheim, entering negotiations to lease the arena. Once the deal was broken, the arena's final cost ended at $121 million, as $18 million were added to finance hockey franchise fees and facility improvement.

Naming Rights Evolution

Originally named the Anaheim Arena during construction, it opened on June 17, 1993. In October 1993, locally based Arrowhead Water paid $15 million for the naming rights over 10 years, making it the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim. In the short period of time after the Mighty Ducks franchise was awarded and before the naming rights deal with Arrowhead, Disney referred to the Arena as the Pond of Anaheim. In October 2006, Honda, whose American headquarters are based in Torrance, paid $60 million for the naming rights over 15 years, and renewed the deal for another decade in 2020.

Championships and Major Events

The arena opened on June 19, 1993, with a Barry Manilow concert as its first event. The then-Arrowhead Pond's first NHL game was also the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim season opener on October 8, 1993, against the Detroit Red Wings, preceded by a 20-minute pregame show at the cost of $450,000. The Ducks lost 7–2. Since then, the arena has been host to a number of events, such as the 2003 and 2007 Stanley Cup Finals. On June 6, 2007, the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Ottawa Senators, 6–2, in game five of the Final at Honda Center to clinch the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship. The venue has hosted several UFC events, starting with UFC 59 in 2006, and the 2005 IBF World Championships for badminton. From 1994 to 1999, it served as a second home for the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers, and was home to the Anaheim Bullfrogs (1994–1999) and Anaheim Piranhas (1996–1997). It has hosted a PBR Bud Light Cup event annually since 1998, the annual Wooden Legacy basketball tournament since 1994, and WWE's WrestleMania XVI in April 2000. In 2011, it began hosting the Big West Conference Men's and Women's Basketball tournaments. The arena has hosted the NCAA men's basketball tournament seven times as the West Regional site – 1998, 2001, 2003, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2016 and 2019. It even hosted the Frozen Four in 1999.

Operational Infrastructure and Adaptability

The arena seats up to 17,174 for its primary tenant, the Ducks. It takes only five hours to convert Honda Center from a sporting arena to an 8,400-seat amphitheater. There are 84 luxury suites in the building, which has hosted 17.5 million people, as of 2003. In 2005, the arena became the first in the U.S. to have two full levels of 360° ribbon displays installed by Daktronics of Brookings, South Dakota, featuring 1,800 feet (550 m) of full-color LED technology. Outside the venue, the marquee was upgraded with two large video displays measuring 8 feet high by 21 feet. Henry Samueli owns Anaheim Arena Management, LLC, which operates the arena and the Ducks; AAM was founded in 2003 to take over operations from bankrupt Ogden Corp., which had sold the concession deal to Aramark in 2000. Concessions became an in-house operation in 2013. During the 2014–2015 NHL Season, a new scoreboard replaced the one from its opening in 1993. In March 2020, events were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the venue hosted charity events and served as a drive-through voting location for the 2020 United States presidential election. The Ducks returned in January 2021 with a reduced audience of 2,000 for the final five games of the season. In April 2025, it was announced that Honda Center would undergo a major $1 billion renovation complete by 2027.