Patriot Center
West entrance in December 2011
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| Full name | EagleBank Arena at George Mason University |
|---|---|
| Former names | Patriot Center (1985–2015) |
| Location | 4500 Patriot Circle Fairfax, Virginia, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 38°49′37″N 77°18′36″W / 38.827°N 77.310°WCoordinates: 38°49′37″N 77°18′36″W / 38.827°N 77.310°W |
| Owner | George Mason University |
| Operator | Monumental Sports & Entertainment |
| Capacity | Basketball: 10,000 |
| Surface | Multi-surface |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1982 |
| Opened | October 4, 1985 32 years ago |
| Construction cost | $16 million ($35.6 million in 2016 dollars) |
| Architect |
HOK Sport Mosley Architects |
| Tenants | |
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George Mason Patriots (NCAA) (1985–present) Washington Commandos (AFL) (1990) |
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The EagleBank Arena (originally the Patriot Center) is a 10,000-seat arena in the eastern United States, on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, a suburb southwest of Washington, D.C.
Opened 32 years ago in 1985, it is the home of Patriot men's & women's basketball, and is a venue for concerts and family shows, with 17,000 square feet (1,600 m2) of space. EagleBank Arena has attracted 9.6 million people to over 2,958 events to GMU, which has over 30,000 students.
In 2010, the Patriot Center was ranked No. 7 nationwide and No. 12 worldwide according to ticket sales for venues with capacities between 10,001 and 15,000 by trade publication Venues Today. Also in 2010, the Patriot Center was ranked No. 8 nationwide and No. 18 worldwide according to top grossing venues with a capacity between 10,001 and 15,000 by Billboard magazine.
On May 7, 2015, the university announced that the name would be changed on July 1 to "EagleBank Arena at George Mason University", following a partnership deal with EagleBank.
The Patriot Center is the first university venue to be managed by a private company, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, who also owns and manages Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
Financing for the construction of the Patriot Center was part of GMU's revenue bond package approved by the Virginia General Assembly in 1982. It replaced a 3,000-seat gymnasium.
The first use of the Patriot Center was GMU's graduation ceremonies in May 1985. The official opening of the arena was on October 4, 1985, when the New York Knicks played the Washington Bullets in a pre-season game, debuting the first game of future Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Patrick Ewing. Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs also made his first professional appearance.
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