News & Events

Every large civic project tends to have moments of peril, when obstacles suddenly loom into view. The city of Kent’s new ShoWare Center was no exception.

The 6,025-seat events center was going to be named after Amiga Inc. until the naming-rights deal collapsed. Then the municipal bond market started getting jumpy as the city sold bonds to raise money for construction.

Kent succeeded in selling its 30-year bonds, and not a moment too soon. The city also signed a new naming-rights deal with VisionOne Inc., of Fresno, Calif. The company paid $3.175 million to name the events center after its ShoWare ticketing service.

Now, three months into its inaugural year, the ShoWare Center is gradually becoming a regional fixture, one that Kent officials hope will continue to advance their long-term goal of remaking the city’s downtown business district.

The center's vital statistics are growing.

The Seattle Thunderbirds hockey team signed a 30-year lease for the venue; it expects to play about 40 games a year on its new home rink.

At ShoWare Center the Thunderbirds have sold about 1,800 season tickets, double their annual season-ticket sales in their former venue, Seattle's KeyArena.

The team's average game attendance has increased about 12.5 percent to 4,500 since they stared in Kent on Jan. 3, Thunderbird officials say.

As of March 20, about 100,000 people had attended events at the center, said Tim Higgins, the venue's general manager.

ShoWare Center was still set up for ice hockey on a recent afternoon, but the seats and the floor space can be configured for various events.

The venue's schedule currently includes two college graduation ceremonies, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the Rat City Rollergirls and a joint concert by the rock bands Styx and REO Speedwagon.

In a sure sign that ShoWare Center is coming of age, a scheduled event has stirred a civic debate over matters of taste. The Lingerie Football League - the name speaks for itself - has booked a game in September.

For a new building, ShoWare Center already has its idiosyncrasies.

Take the hockey team locker rooms. The home-team locker room is circular, hushed and finished in light wood, with the Thunderbird's logo on the floor. Opposing teams get a concrete block changing room painted lime green. As for the auditory ambience, think of a middle school cafeterie during lunch hour.

Building the center stretched the skills of the city's economic development director, Ben Wolters. He now knows how to shop for Zamboni ice-resurfacing machines, having had to buy two - one new, one used - for the ShoWare Center. They share a common garage off the arena floor.

Despite the progress, challenges remain.

ShoWare Center's manager, Philadelphia-based SMG, thought it would sell all 20 of the venue's luxury boxes. Then four luxury-box deals fell through during the financial turmoil of late last year.

Music groups are far more selective about tour stops because of the recession, city and center officials say. Bands are more cautious and more likely to book tours in specific regions instead of going on the road nationwide.

Finally, as a new venue, ShoWare Center is still trying to establish its presence in the central Puget Sound market. When a cable sports channel recently broadcast several Thunderbird's games, city officials were glad for the team - and equally glad for the publicity for the center.

"We have challenges ahead of us," Wolters said. "But we also have promise."