"The Snake Pit" and "The Jungle" | |
Location | 400 4th Street Columbus, Georgia 31901 |
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Coordinates | 32°27′01″N 84°59′16″W / 32.450276°N 84.987699°WCoordinates: 32°27′01″N 84°59′16″W / 32.450276°N 84.987699°W |
Owner | City of Columbus, Georgia |
Operator | City of Columbus, Georgia |
Capacity | 9,109 (concerts) 7,459 (hockey) 7,573 (indoor football) 7,671 (basketball) |
Construction | |
Broke ground | May 20, 1994 |
Opened | August 9, 1996 |
Construction cost | $45 million ($68.7 million in 2016 dollars) |
Architect | Odell Associates, Inc. |
Project manager | McDevitt Street Bovis, Inc. |
General contractor | Genoa Construction |
Tenants | |
Columbus Cottonmouths (CHL/ECHL/SPHL) (1996–2017) Columbus Comets (EISL) (1997) Columbus Riverdragons (NBDL) (2001–2005) Columbus Wardogs (AF2) (2001–2004) Chattahoochee Valley Vipers (AIFA) (2006) Columbus Lions (NAL) (2007–present) Auburn Tigers (ACHA) (2010–2011) |
Columbus Civic Center is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Columbus, Georgia, built in 1996.
The arena was built in 1996, along with a Softball Complex, to fully complete South Commons (an area consisting of a baseball and football stadium, and a skateboard park). The venue replaced the Municipal Auditorium, which was constructed in 1955.
The Columbus Civic Center is home to the Auburn Tigers ice hockey team and the Columbus Lions indoor football team. Several other sports teams have also used the arena in the past. The Columbus Cottonmouths ice hockey team played in the arena from 1996 until 2017, the Columbus Riverdragons basketball team from 2001 to 2005, the Columbus Wardogs indoor football team from 2001 to 2004, the Chattahoochee Valley Vipers indoor football team during 2006, and the Columbus Comets indoor soccer team during 1997.
The arena is also the primary concert venue in the Greater Columbus area, hosting artists such as KISS (in 1997), Kelly Clarkson (in 2009), and Lady Antebellum (in 2012). The Civic Center has also hosted several professional wrestling events, such as World Wrestling Entertainment's Friday Night Smackdown (in 2006 and 2014), and WCW Monday Nitro (in 1996).
In 2016, the arena also hosted the Columbus District Qualifier of the FIRST Robotics Competition Peachtree District. 40 teams attended this event making it the largest district qualifier of the Peachtree District, as well as the first in the history of the Peachtree District. The Fernbank LINKS (FRC Team 4468), Columbus Space Program (FRC Team 4188), and RoboMustangs (FRC Team 5074) were the winners of the event. G3 Robotics (FRC Team 1648) also won the Chairman's Award, the most prestigious award in the FIRST Robotics Competition.