Savvis Center
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The Savvis Center (formerly Kiel Center) is an arena located in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. It is home to the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League, the Saint Louis University Billikens basketball team, and the St. Louis Steamers of the Major Indoor Soccer League among many other events.
Kiel Center was opened in 1994 to replace Kiel Auditorium, where the college basketball team had played, which was torn down in December 1992. The Blues had played in the Saint Louis Arena prior to moving into the Kiel Center in 1994. The building is currently known as Savvis Center, after naming rights were sold in August 2000 to SAVVIS Communications Corporation, a global IP network service provider with dual headquarters in St. Louis and Herndon, Virginia. The Kiel name still bears on the adjoining parking structure.
While the Savvis Center is the primary location for basketball games (even though St. Louis does not have a NBA basketball team), the Edward Jones Dome (home of the St. Louis Rams) was used to host the Final Four of the 2005 NCAA Basketball Tournament.
The center features a range of arena programming, including concerts, ice shows, family shows, and other sporting events. It hosts approximately 175 events per year, drawing nearly 2 million guests annually.
Every March the Savvis Center host the men's basketball conference tournament for the Missouri Valley Conference. It also hosts the annual "Braggin' Rights" basketball game between Illinois and Missouri.
From January 7-15, 2006 the Savvis Center host the 2006 State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships
The Savvis Center will host the 2007 Frozen Four college ice hockey tournament on April 5 and April 7, 2007.
External links
- Savvis Center Online (http://www.savviscenter.net)