Four Seasons Arena
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| Location | 400 3rd Street NW, Great Falls, Montana, U.S. |
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| Coordinates | 40°45′2″N 73°59′37″W / 40.75056°N 73.99361°WCoordinates: 40°45′2″N 73°59′37″W / 40.75056°N 73.99361°W |
| Owner | Cascade County, Montana |
| Operator | Cascade County, Montana |
| Capacity |
Basketball: 5,054 Concert: 5,870 Rodeo: 4,146 |
| Opened | 1979 |
| Tenants | |
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Great Falls Americans (WHL) (1979–1980) Montana Golden Nuggets (CBA) (1980–1983) Great Falls Explorers (CBA) (2006–2008) |
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The Four Seasons Arena is a multi-purpose indoor sports and exhibition arena located in the city of Great Falls, Montana, in the United States. Constructed in 1979, it served primarily as an ice rink until 2005. The failure of the practice rink's refrigeration system in 2003 and the management's decision to close the main rink in 2006 led to the facility's reconfiguration as an indoor sports and exhibition space. As of May 2011 it is the largest exhibition, music, and sports venue in the city.
Prior to the construction of the Four Seasons Arena, the city of Great Falls had no large indoor sports arena. The gymnasium at Great Falls High School, built in 1930, sat about 1,200 on wooden benches in an area designed for use primarily as a basketball court. The Great Falls Civic Center, built in 1939, contained an ice rink but no other sports facilities. The College of Great Falls built the McLaughlin Center in 1966, which contained an Olympic-size swimming pool and 1,800-seat gym designed for use as a basketball court. The city's largest sports venue was the gymnasium at Charles M. Russell High School. The gym, constructed in 1963, sat 4,000 in a basketball court.
The lack of a large indoor sports center inhibited the growth of professional sports in the city, as well as the city's ability to host major high school athletic tournaments. In 1975, the city of Billings constructed the Montana's Entertainment, Trade and Recreation Arena (or METRA), a 12,000 seat multi-purpose arena. In 1977, an organization known as Leadership Great Falls (a program of the Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce) undertook a process to provide city civic and business leaders with a vision for the city of Great Falls. Out of this year-long process came the request for the city to construct a large, multi-purpose, indoor sports arena. Great Falls City Commissioner John St. Jermain championed the effort to build an arena, and fought for a ballot initiative in 1977 that would have used city tax dollars to build it. But voters rejected the proposal. St. Jermain then sought and won in 1978 a federal grant to pay for the majority of the cost of constructing the facility. St. Jermain lost reelection in November 1978.
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