Rose Garden (arena)

Rose Garden, commonly known as the The Rose Garden Arena, is the primary indoor sports arena in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is suitable for large indoor events of all sorts, including basketball, ice hockey, rodeos, circuses, conventions, ice shows, concerts, and dramatic productions. The arena has a capacity of 19,980 spectators when configured for basketball; it holds smaller crowds when configured for other events. The arena is equipped with state-of-the-art acoustics and other amenities.[2]

It is owned by Vulcan Inc., a holding company owned by Paul Allen, and is currently managed by Anschutz Entertainment Group and AEG Live. The primary tenant is the Portland Trail Blazers NBA franchise, also owned by Allen. The other major tenant of the building today is the major junior hockey franchise Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League, which splits its schedule with the Memorial Coliseum next door. In addition to the Blazers and Winterhawks, several other professional sports franchises, and the Portland State University men's basketball team, either currently play home games in the Rose Garden, or have done so in the past. In addition, the Rose Garden is a popular venue for concerts and other artistic productions.[3]

Construction on the Rose Garden began in 1993, and the arena opened on October 12, 1995. The arena cost US$262 million to build; construction was financed with funds obtained by a variety of sources, including the City of Portland, Allen's personal fortune, and $155 million in bonds issued by a consortium of mutual funds and insurance companies.[4] These bonds would become the subject of an acrimonious 2004 bankruptcy in which the Oregon Arena Corporation, the holding company which owned the arena at the time, would forfeit title to the Rose Garden in lieu of repaying the bonds per the payment terms.[5] Allen would later repurchase the arena from the creditors in 2007.[6]

Description
For more details on transportation and parking, see Rose Quarter#Transportation and parking.

The Rose Garden is a multipurpose arena which is suitable for numerous indoor sports, including basketball, ice hockey, arena football, and lacrosse, as well as for hosting other events such as concerts, conventions, and circuses.[2] The arena is located in a sports and entertainment district known as the Rose Quarter, a parcel of land in inner northeast Portland which also includes the Memorial Coliseum arena, as well as several parking structures, restaurants, and other amenities.
[edit] Name

The official name of the facility is "Rose Garden"; though the arena is commonly known as the "Rose Garden Arena" to disambiguate it from the International Rose Test Garden, also located in Portland. The name was chosen both to reflect Portland's reputation as the Rose City,[7] and to reflect the importance to basketball heritage of Boston Garden and Madison Square Garden arenas in Boston and New York City, respectively. When the name was selected, the remainder of the former Coliseum grounds were given the name "Rose Quarter".

On December 12, 2007, the Trail Blazers and Vulcan announced that they were seeking a corporate partner to grant naming rights for the facility, with the goal of a new name being available for the Blazers' 2008–09 season.[8] Until then, the Rose Garden remains one of only a handful of NBA facilities for which naming rights have not been sold.[9] Currently, corporate sponsorship is offered on four "media totems" at each of the facility's main entrances.[7]
[edit] Structure and architecture

The Rose Garden is a precast concrete-framed structure with a roof made up of skeletal steel. The arena structure encloses a total of over 785,000 square feet (72,900 m2), on eight levels, five of which are open to the public. The building is 140 feet (43 m), from the event floor to the pinnacle of the saddle-shaped roof.[2] The arena includes a 60 by 40 feet (18 × 12 m) permanent stage, and a 200 by 85 feet (61 × 26 m) ice rink.[10]

The building is composed of over 48,000 cubic yards (37,000 m3) of concrete, and over 9,700 short tons (8,800 t) of steel. The exterior is composed of over 29,000 square feet (2,700 m2) of glass, 17,500 square feet (1,630 m2) of plaster, 52,000 square feet (4,800 m2) of architectural precast, 39,000 square feet (3,600 m2) of insulation, and 13,654 square feet (1,268.5 m2) of steel louvres.[2][11]

The building, designed by architecture firm Ellerbe Becket, has been criticized by some in Portland's architectural community. A survey of local architects and planners was conducted by the Portland Tribune, and subsequently the Rose Garden was listed among the five ugliest buildings in the city.[12]
[edit] Seating
Inside of Rose Garden Arena, circa 2001

The arena has a total of over 14,000 permanent seats arranged in two bowls. An additional 1540 permanent seats are found in the arena's 70 skyboxes. Over 4200 portable seats may or may not be installed, depending on the arena's configuration.[10] When configured for basketball, the arena has a capacity of 19,980, and can accommodate a total of up to 20,580 patrons with standing room. Prior to the 1998 NBA season the capacity was reduced to 19,980 from the original 21,400 spectators.[13] When configured for hockey or lacrosse, capacity decreases to 17,544. The arena supports numerous other configurations for events such as concerts, monster trucks, and circuses.[2] The seating below the suites, known as the lower bowl, is further divided into the 100 and 200 levels. The upper bowl seats, above the suites, are the 300 level.[2]
[edit] Skyboxes and suites

The arena features 70 skyboxes, each with a seating capacity of 22 guests. Skyboxes include amenities such as a wet bar, catering, a private restroom, multiple television monitors, and a sound system.[2] Skyboxes may be rented on a yearly[14] or single-event[15] basis; yearly renters of skyboxes are given access to all Rose Garden events. The arena also features modular party suites, which can be configured either as a pair of 44-person Super Suites, or as one 88-person mega suite.[16]
[edit] Theater of the Clouds

For smaller, more intimate events, the Rose Garden can be placed into a configuration known as the "Theater of the Clouds". This configuration, part of a trend of large arenas having smaller theater configurations,[17] places the stage at center court, and utilizes the western side of the arena.[18] Custom floor-to-ceiling theater curtains are draped at the edges of the seating area, creating a more intimate setting. As of 2004, on average 10 events per year have been held in the Theater of the Clouds configuration.[19] The Theater of the Clouds configuration seats 6,500; with 16 of the 70 luxury boxes being usable.[20]
[edit] Amenities

Two concourses, the 100 level and the 300 level, are open to the ticket-buying public during events; the 100 level concourse provides access to the lower bowl (including the 200-level seats); the 300-level concourse provides access to the upper bowl. A third concourse, the 200 level, provides access to guest services such as a sports bar, a barbecue grill, an executive banquet facility, and several outdoor terraces, including two which permit smoking. A fourth concourse, known as Suite Level, provides access to the skyboxes and is restricted to patrons who have skybox admission. All concourses provide a variety of concession stands. The arena also features 32 public restrooms; women's toilets outnumber men's toilets 3 to 1.[2] There are wi-fi hotspots throughout the arena.[16] The concourses are decorated with historical memorabilia.[21]

The primary scoreboard is a Mitsubishi-manufactured high definition video scoreboard. This scoreboard, which hangs from the ceiling over center court, features four 15 feet by 22.5 feet (4.5 m by 6.75 m) video screens, among the biggest in the NBA.[16] The arena also features over 650 television monitors placed throughout,[2] showing the action on court. Auxiliary scoreboards located both in the arena itself and the concourses provide statistical information, including "hustle" statistics for basketball (rebounds, blocked shots, and steals). Three media towers, one at each main entrance, provide video of other games in the NBA.[21]
[edit] Acoustics

A unique feature found in no other multi-purpose arena what is known as the "acoustical cloud". The acoustical cloud is a set of 160 rotating acoustic panels suspended from the Rose Garden ceiling, and were intended to recreate the roar of noise that made the old Memorial Coliseum one of the loudest buildings in the NBA. One side of each 10 feet by 10 feet (3 m by 3 m) panel reflects sound, while the other side absorbs sound. Each panel is shaped like an airplane wing, and is 8 inches (20 cm) thick at the center and 4 inches (10 cm) thick at the edges. The effect during Blazers games is to absorb the noise from the upper levels and reflect it back down to the court.

The panels permit the acoustics of the arena to be adjusted according to the requirements of the event. For smaller events in which only the lower bowl of the arena is used, the panels can be lowered to further improve the sound and increase the intimacy of the arena. The acoustical cloud cost US$2 million to design and install.[22] The arena is also equipped with a JBL sound system.[16] The acoustics of the Rose Garden have been widely praised compared to similar venues.[19]