From the Rolling Stones to the Who, Long Beach Arena has hosted some great moments in rock ‘n’ roll. Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center’s repositioning and renovation gives the venue a modern design, but also harkens back to the facility’s rich history.
The new spaces reflect some of the greatest shows played at the facility with photos from previous events displayed throughout. Though guests will be in a contemporary and technologically upgraded facility, the building’s history remains an important part of the design.
“From my perspective of being here for just a couple of years, you walk around and immediately know the history,” said facility GM Charlie Beirne. “You walk into the green room and see photos of all the acts and talent that have played here over the years.”
Giving the venue’s history a prominent presence in the design was important because of the building’s status within the community of Long Beach. The Long Beach Arena was the first part of the complex to be built. It was constructed on the site of the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in 1962.
“It’s really fun if you talk with locals because they remember attending these concerts,” said Long Beach Convention and Visitor’s Bureau President & CEO Steve Goodling.
The arena was the site of several recordings for live concert albums or videos, including “How the West Was Won” by Led Zeppelin from their June 27, 1972 performance. Recently, Avenged Sevenfold released the “Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough” live album and DVD from their Sept. 16, 2008 performance.
“There are a couple generations of Long Beach citizens that have grown up with this arena,” said Theatre Project Consultants’ Michael Ferguson, theater design consultant for the Pacific Ballroom project. “Chances are they know exactly where it is because they were there at some point in their life seeing something totally cool.”
“Giving the arena this new identity really gives the city and SMG a chance to breathe new life into it,” he added.
Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center was one of SMG’s earliest accounts, signing with the company in 1981.
Sports have played a major part at the venue, also. The National Hockey League’s Los Angeles Kings played at the arena for the first half of their expansion season. The arena hosted volleyball for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games and in 2004 the complex hosted Olympic Trials for swimming.
“It was the first time that a temporary structure was erected for the event and the first time we saw Michael Phelps,” said Gregg Caren, executive VP-convention centers & business development for SMG. “To me, it really showed the versatility of the entire complex,” he added. “Anyone else would have said it couldn’t be done, but we did it.”
Long Beach also has a prestigious role in convention center history, having hosted the first California Women’s conference in 1985, an event that still comes back to the venue.
Interviewed for this story: Charlie Beirne, (562) 436-3636; Gregg Caren, (610) 729-7922; Michael Ferguson, (213) 375-3688 x101; Steve Goodling, (562) 495-8350