9-585: The Sames Auto Arena (formerly known as the Laredo Entertainment Center and Laredo Energy Arena ) is a multi-purpose arena in Laredo, Texas . It is located next to Bob Bullock Loop (US 59/Loop 20), on the northeastern side of Laredo. Within the Sames Auto Arena complex, there are several hotels within a walking distance. The Laredo International Airport is also nearby. The City of Laredo funded
18-412: A seating capacity that can be expanded up to 9,622 for concerts, with 14 luxury suites, six meeting rooms and a private club. The facility's management company, SMG, oversees all aspects of the arena including operations, concessions, scheduling, ticketing, and marketing. The arena sits on 25 acres (10 ha) at Jacaman Road and Bob Bullock Loop (US 59/Loop 20) – property that Arena Ventures donated to
27-496: A roof. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the lowest point, allowing maximum visibility. Arenas are usually designed to accommodate a multitude of spectators. The word derives from Latin harena , a particularly fine-grained sand that covered the floor of ancient arenas such as the Colosseum in Rome , Italy, to absorb blood. The term arena is sometimes used as
36-430: A synonym for a very large venue such as Pasadena's Rose Bowl , but such a facility is typically called a stadium . The use of one term over the other has mostly to do with the type of event. Football (be it association , rugby , gridiron , Australian rules , or Gaelic ) is typically played in a stadium, while basketball , volleyball , handball , and ice hockey are typically played in an arena, although many of
45-476: Is also the sport of indoor American football (one variant of which is explicitly known as arena football), a variant of the outdoor game that is designed for the usual smaller playing surface of most arenas; variants of other traditionally outdoor sports, including box lacrosse as well as futsal and indoor soccer , also exist. The term "arena" is also used loosely to refer to any event or type of event which either literally or metaphorically takes place in such
54-564: The $ 36.5 million project through a one-quarter percent sales tax increase that was approved by Laredo voters on August 12, 2000, with the facility's groundbreaking taking place in June 2001. The facility opened in October 2002. With 32,000 square feet (3,000 m) of continuous open floor space, the Sames Auto Arena has the largest indoor convention space in South Texas. The 178,000 square foot facility has
63-510: The City of Laredo. Arena Ventures owns 35 additional acres around the site that is currently being developed with hotels and office parks, specialized retail stores and restaurants, and a $ 1.5 million water feature with fountains, a boardwalk and quarter-mile jogging track. In 2010, the previously-named Laredo Entertainment Center was renamed the Laredo Energy Arena after Laredo Energy purchased
72-574: The larger arenas hold more spectators than do the stadiums of smaller colleges or high schools. There are exceptions. The home of the Duke University men's and women's basketball teams would qualify as an arena, but the facility is called Cameron Indoor Stadium . Domed stadiums, which, like arenas, are enclosed but have the larger playing surfaces and seating capacities found in stadiums, are generally not referred to as arenas in North America. There
81-452: The venue's naming rights. Eight years later, Sames Auto Group purchased the naming rights to the arena and the venue is now known as the Sames Auto Arena. Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre , musical performances , and/or sporting events . It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators, and may be covered by
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