October 2008 Archives

Oct. 2008
Southeast entrance


Oct. 2008
Interior view


Oct. 2008
East end


Seating configuration - hockey

After more than a decade since first envisioned, several years of planning, a few false starts and 18 months of construction, a new day in sports and entertainment for Inland Southern California began Saturday as Citizens Business Bank Arena opened its doors to the public for the first time.

Dubbed "Community Day," the grand opening event saw several thousand people take a peek inside the new $150 million, 11,000 seat arena in Ontario. Located near the I-10/I-15 interchange, the arena rests on a portion of the former site for Ontario Motor Speedway. Immediately to the east is Ontario Mills mall while across I-10 sits LA/Ontario International Airport.

The facility, which is managed by AEG (who also oversee LA's Staples Center), is Inland Southern California's first major-league caliber arena and will play host to everything from sporting events and concerts to children's shows and community events. The facility's first official event is an October 24 exhibition game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder (formerly Seattle SuperSonics). Carrie Underwood's November 9 date will be the venue's inaugural concert. But the real acoustical test is likely to come December 12 when an already sold-old appearance is made by Metallica.

In between concerts and other sporting events, the arena will be home to the Ontario Reign, the new Double-A affiliate ice hockey club of the Los Angeles Kings. The Reign will play in the 24-team ECHL as a member of the Pacific Division along with Las Vegas, Fresno, Stockton and Bakersfield (the new Anaheim Ducks affiliate).

Designed by Rossetti Associates, the 225,000 sq. ft. facility contains 9,500 fixed seats with expansion risers allowing 11,089 for concerts, 10,832 for basketball and 9,736 for ice hockey. There are also 36 luxury suites -- 24 Club suites and 12 Skybox suites -- both with their own VIP areas and outdoor patios. An open-ended concourse fills a portion of the arena's western end.

Our first impressions? Top-notch and first class; comfortably large and yet intimate. The seats offer excellent sightlines and feel close to the floor, even from above. No matter where one sits, there simply is not a bad seat in the house. Not even the single seat atop section 219.

At two-thirds the size of both Los Angeles' Staples Center and Anaheim's Honda Center, we think Citizens' "big, but intimate" atmosphere will make it one of Southern California's premier concert venues. (With sincere apologies to Long Beach Arena -- a long-time favorite of local music fans -- Ontario's new arena is poised to overtake it as the region's best mid-major concert venue.)

Indeed, it's been a long time coming, but Citizens Arena is a venue that both Ontario and Inland Southern California can be proud of.

Photos: Citizens Business Bank Arena

Related

• Citizens Business Bank Arena


• Ontario Reign


• ECHL


• AEG


• Rossetti Associates


• Citizens Business Bank


• City of Ontario


• Inland Valley Daily Bulletin - Thousands get preview of Ontario's Citizens Business Bank Arena

Previous

• RaincrossSquare.com - Ground broken for Ontario arena (March 2007)


• RaincrossSquare.com - Citizens Business Bank Arena (October 2006)

Update

• Inland Valley Daily Bulletin - Reign earn win in debut (Oct. 19) | Lakers play curtain-raiser at Ontario's Citizens Business Bank Arena (Oct. 25) | Arena, Lakers magnetize I.E. (Oct. 25)


• InstantRiverside.com - Citizens Business Bank Arena makes its debut with Lakers (Oct. 23)

Sources: City of Ontario, AEG, Rossetti Associates, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, The Press-Enterprise

Flash: Out & About slideshow


2008
Incorporating the old RIR logo


2008
March Field Air Museum


2008
An original WWI-era plane
traced back to March Field

This past weekend saw us check the status on a few ongoing projects in downtown Riverside, including Regency Tower and Main Street Pedestrian Mall as both projects continue moving along. We also managed to take a nice snapshot overlooking downtown as well as take in two local museums.

First up was a visit to the Riverside International Automotive Museum in Riverside. Located in a business park near Hunter Park, the museum pays homage to the former Riverside International Raceway, which hosted major races on the eastern edge of town from 1957 - 1988. On display are posters, videos and various RIR memorabilia -- including a refrigerator from the driver's lounge. The museum also houses 3 Indy Eagle cars from the track's most prolific racer, Dan Gurney.

But more than just honoring RIR, the museum has a small collection of memorabilia from the former Ontario Motor Speedway (which held races from 1970 to 1980 on land where the new arena now stands). Likewise, several sports cars are on display, ranging from Ferrari and Maserati to Indy cars. It's also a working museum with race car restoration projects in the works.

Photos: Riverside International Raceway

Related

• Riverside International Automotive Musem

Next was a stop at March Field Air Museum adjacent to I-215 in southeastern Riverside. Located on the western edge of March Air Reserve Base, the museum is comprised of a few hangar-like structures and several outdoor aircraft displays.

An interior exhibit area offers historical displays on March Field -- which celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2008 -- as well as the nation's major wars. Several other displays include the Tuskegee Airmen, Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, SAC Commander Gen. Curtis LeMay and the International Combat Camera Association. The museum also includes a short film on the history of March Field -- the oldest Air Force base on the west coast -- and it's involvement within the nation's modern military.

Outside on the museum's flightline are over 50 aircraft, including an SR-71 Blackbird, B-17 Flying Fortress, B-29 Superfortress, B-52D Stratofortress, F-4 Phantom, F-14 Tomcat, F-15 Eagle and KC-135 Stratotanker. Also on display are 4 Soviet MiG planes and a small hanger dedicated to the P-38.

The museum is also a working museum, with several hangers set up for ongoing restoration projects. Future plans at the museum include expansion for more interior exhibit space and a re-working of the exterior flightline.

When visiting March Field Air Museum, be sure to make time for a few solemn moments across the freeway at Riverside National Cemetery, which was the former site of Camp Haan during World War II.

Related

• March Field Air Museum


• Riverside National Cemetery

Mission Inn by J Rupert

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