The Kenan Civic Arena will open its new arena Sept. 5 with a public celebration of music, art, and sports that have been its hallmark for decades.
The day of free activities for the community, running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will begin with a ribbon-cutting, followed by a full slate of entertainment and activity throughout the arena and across the Kenan Center campus.
Musician Dave Turner will perform at 11 a.m., followed by The Strictly Hip at 1:30 p.m. Local artist Nikki Milley will paint a mural throughout the day and raffle off an original painting, with proceeds split between Milley and the Kenan Center.
The arena’s new indoor turf field and sport courts get their first action from the community, with local youth sports teams playing on the schedule throughout the day.
The event marks the completion of a $16.5 million, 64,200-square-foot arena next to the original venue adjacent to Beattie Avenue.
Built to host large-scale events and gatherings, the Kenan Civic Arena will serve as the largest event space in Niagara County and one of the largest in Western New York, said Bill Patti, the Kenan Center’s executive director. The new facility houses a fitness center, turf field, sport courts, concessions, classrooms, a computer lab, community rooms, and dance and art studios.
More than 75 local vendors will set up shop outside, with the celebration moving indoors to the old arena in case of rain. That original arena space will also host a Kenan Arena yard sale, offering surplus items and souvenirs from the building’s history.
“The Kenan Civic Arena is going to change what is possible in Lockport,” Patti said. “It will bring thousands of people into our community, create new opportunities for kids and families, support our local economy, and give organizations across Western New York a place to compete, create, perform, and connect. We believe this facility will become a destination, but most importantly, it will always belong to the community that built it.”
Amenities will allow rapid changeovers between types of sports and major public events. The arena accommodates multiple volleyball, basketball, and pickleball courts, as well as a baseball diamond. Patti said staff are fielding inquiries about scheduling tournaments and championships.
“We’re one of the only spaces, because of ceiling height, that can host cheerleading championships,” Patti said. “But we can’t do soccer tournaments because we only have one field.”
Kenan staff are also moving forward to realize a goal of more than 30 weekends of major events at the arena, Patti said, and next year’s Lockport High School graduation is already scheduled. Pointing to a concrete seam two-thirds of the way across the floor, Patti said the section could hold the 3,000 seats the high school said were needed for the ceremony.
“With the rest of the space we’re almost to 5,000 people,” he said.
A full-sized stage can fit between two garage doors on the west wall, Patti said.
“Concert-wise, we can do anything we want,” he said. “The arena’s size can accommodate indoor circus shows and smaller arena tours. Some expos will have people coming in from out of town. There’s going to be events here where people will be coming overnight. We will work with hotels to come up with overnight packages.”
“For almost 60 years, our old arena has been there for this community to play, to gather, and to celebrate. This new arena carries that same spirit forward. It means Lockport and Western New York families will have a place to gather for generations to come, and that this community’s story keeps being written here,” said Lea Sobieraski, chief operating officer of the Kenan Center.
For more information, visit kenancenter.org.