Since 1980, the St. Joseph Civic Arena has been hosting entertainment for all ages and for all interests. From concerts, sporting events, community events, meetings, and more the interior face of the Civic Arena changes weekly.
Events in October 2013, alone will showcase the wide variety of events that the Civic Arena offers. On October 5, the 19,000-square-foot floor of the arena will be glamorously dressed up by talented women for the Josephine Expo, an event that includes booths of jewelry, clothing, health products, make-up, crafts, and other products that would be of interest to the women in the community. Following closely on the high heels of the Expo is the American Crown Pre-Season Nationals Wrestling Tournament on October 12. Over the years, the Civic Arena has opened its floor for the WWF, WCW, and mud wrestling matches.
Three days after the big wrestlers leave the ring, the arena is opened up for the little guys in TinyTotTown. Like the friendly neighborhood feel of Sesame Street, professionals from the community come out and introduce themselves to tiny tots from birth to age 5 and teach them about the police officers, firemen, dentists, healthcare workers, and other adults that care for them in their larger community neighborhood. No sooner do the Tiny Tots exit the building, than the Big Bucks move in for the Big Buck Classic Gun Show on October 19.
The Civic Arena has been the site for many musical tastes that range from the Oak Ridge Boys to KISS. Shows like Sesame Street Live, Ice Capades, Kennel Club Dog Show, the Moila Shrine Circus, and the Royal Lipizzaner Stallions entertain whole families.
Sports fans have enjoyed everything from local sport groups to world-renowned athletes in the Civic Arena. The floor of the arena has its share of changes from the dirt and straw of a circus and rodeo, to an ice skating rink, to multiple concert stages, to a full basketball court. The local high schools have their basketball jamboree here. Basketball fans have also been able to enjoy the Harlem Globetrotters and Kansas City Kings play here. The Civic Arena has hosted five nationally-televised boxing matches, and has been the venue for car shows, tractor pulls, weightlifting, hunting and fishing shows, and more.
The Civic Arena often hosts big name events and community organization events, but sometimes it hosts more personal events and brings the community together. In a building that can seat up to 4,200 people, more intimate spaces can be arranged with modular walls that allow for groups from 25 people to 300. Prom dresses and wedding gowns have swept the floor of the arena. Graduates have tossed their hats toward the towering ceiling. The city’s teachers have gathered their energy here to start the school year off positively. Groups like the BlackSnake Roller Girls gathered and were “Taking A Beating for Breast Cancer” to help those in our community.
The St. Joseph Civic Arena hosts such a wide variety of events that everyone from stay-at-home parents to business executives, Monster truck enthusiasts to ice skating admirers, and music lovers to bargain shoppers can enjoy.