CFG Bank Arena
CFG Bank Arena is a multipurpose arena in Baltimore, Maryland. This venue is located about one block away from the Baltimore Convention Center on the corner of Baltimore Street and Hopkins Place in downtown Baltimore. With a seating capacity of up to 14,000 for concerts, CFG Bank Arena is owned by the City of Baltimore and managed by the Oak View Group, a global sports and entertainment company.
The venue officially opened on October 23, 1962, as the Baltimore Civic Center. Designed by AG Odell Jr. and Associates, it was built on the site of Old Congress Hall, where the Continental Congress met in 1776. The venue has been home to several Baltimore-based sports teams, most notably the Baltimore Bullets of the NBA from 1963 to 1973.
As a cornerstone for the Inner Harbor redevelopment during the 1980s, it was reopened after renovations and renamed the Baltimore Arena in 1986. In 2003, it was renamed 1st Mariner Arena for Baltimore-based 1st Mariner Bank, which purchased naming rights to the arena for 10 years. When this naming rights agreement ended in 2013, the arena returned to its "Baltimore Arena" name until convenience store chain Royal Farms purchased the naming rights in September 2014; the arena was known as Royal Farms Arena until 2022. After an extensive renovation, the venue reopened as CFG Bank Arena in February 2023.
History
1960s–1970s
A cornerstone to the Arena was laid in 1961 with a vault that included messages from then-U.S. President John F. Kennedy, then-Maryland governor J. Millard Tawes, and then-Baltimore Mayor J. Harold Grady. The vault was opened in 2006. The current site that was chosen for the Baltimore Civic Center was actually not one of the many sites proposed to the Greater Baltimore Committee in 1955. Among nine suggested locations were two in Druid Hill Park, three at the end of the Inner Harbor basin, and one in Clifton Park.From 1962 through 1976, the Baltimore Clippers of the American Hockey League played their home games at the Arena. The financially troubled Clippers ceased operations in mid-season, 1974–75, when the professional Baltimore Blades of the World Hockey Association moved into the market/arena. The Blades folded at the end of the season, and the Clippers regrouped for one final AHL season 1975–76. The Arena has hosted two other AHL franchises: the Baltimore Skipjacks lasted from 1981 to 1993, and the Baltimore Bandits from 1995 to 1997.
On November 12, 1962, the Arena hosted a boxing match between Joey Giardello and Johnny Morris attended by approximately 6,000 fans.
In 1963, the Arena became the home of the NBA's Baltimore Bullets, where the team played home games until its move to the Capital Centre in 1973. The NBA All-Star Game was played at the Arena in 1969.
The Beatles performed at the Arena on September 13, 1964, to a total of 28,000 attendees in two performances on the same day, at 4:00 pm and 8:30 pm.
On April 3, 1965, defending WWWF champion Bruno Sammartino defeated Gene Kiniski in a return title match. Just a few months later, in January 1966, Kiniski would win the National Wrestling Alliance title.
On April 12, 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech, "Race and the Church", before a gathering of Methodist clergy at the Baltimore Civic Center.
The venue also hosted Led Zeppelin several times through the early 1970s. A couple of scenes from the Led Zeppelin concert film The Song Remains the Same were filmed backstage. On June 13, 1970, The Jimi Hendrix Experience played the Civic Center with a last-minute decision to visit from New York and sold out. This was noted to be one of the best performances of the whole 1970 tour and was one of the last shows Hendrix played before his death a few months later. Chicago performed at the Civic Center on September 4, 1971, the month before the release of their fourth album, Chicago at Carnegie Hall. Elvis Presley played the Civic Center twice: Tuesday, November 9, 1971, 8:30pm and again on Sunday, May 29, 1977, 8:30pm, less than three months before his untimely death. Both shows were complete sell-outs. The Grateful Dead's performance on September 17, 1972, was recorded and later released as Dick's Picks Volume 23. It contains the complete concert, except for the encore, which was "One More Saturday Night". It contains the longest CD version of "The Other One", to date, at nearly 40 minutes long.
In 1974, the World Team Tennis Baltimore Banners played their home games there in their only season. World No. 1 player Jimmy Connors was on that team. After Connors defeated Ken Rosewall in Wimbledon they played each other at the Arena in a rematch. Billie Jean King and John Newcombe both played at the Arena, with their respective WTT clubs.
The Civic Center was host to the 1974 and 1975 MEAC men's basketball tournament. In 1975, professional basketball returned briefly with the Baltimore Claws of the American Basketball Association. The Memphis Sounds relocated to Baltimore following the 1974–75 ABA season and were first called the Baltimore Hustlers, before changing their name. Troubled financially from the start, the Claws folded after three road exhibition games.
1980s–1990s
The Arena was the home of the Major Indoor Soccer League's Baltimore Blast from their arrival in the 1980–1981 season until the league folded in 1992. The Blast won their only championship in the 1983–84 season which was attended by upwards of 11,200 fans. The Blast, regardless of incarnation, were the longest-serving tenant in the Arena's history.Van Halen performed at the Arena on July 22, 1980, as part of their Van Halen World Invasion Tour. Bon Jovi performed to a sold-out Arena crowd during their Slippery When Wet Tour on December 29, 1986. In 1986 and 1989, the Arena was host to popular Italian opera singer Luciano Pavarotti. Def Leppard performed at the Arena on October 9, 1987, during their Hysteria World Tour.
Kiss performed at the Arena on November 27, 1984, as part of their Animalize World Tour. This performance is notable, because lead guitarist Mark St. John makes his live debut with the band, after being temporarily replaced by Bruce Kulick for the first two months of the tour due to contracting reactive arthritis. Kulick played the first five songs of the show, then St. John joined onstage to perform five songs. Kulick returned onstage and finished the show. Both St. John and Kulick bowed with the rest of the members at the end of the show. St. John went on to play only two full shows with the band before being permanently replaced by Kulick.
The Arena was the home of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League and later the National Lacrosse League Baltimore Thunder from 1987 through 1999. The Thunder won the inaugural MILL championship. Notable players include Gary Gait, Tom Gravante and Hugh Donovan.
The Arena was a frequent venue for Jim Crockett Promotions and World Championship Wrestling. Starting in 1988, The Great American Bash pay-per-view was held at the Arena eight times. It also hosted SuperBrawl V in 1995. Sting defeated Ric Flair to win his first NWA World Championship at 1990's Great American Bash, and Ron Simmons upset Big Van Vader in 1992 for the WCW title, becoming the first African-American to hold a major world title. The nWo was reformed in 1999 at the Baltimore Arena with Bret Hart, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Jeff Jarrett on the Nitro after Starrcade
The Arena has also hosted many WWE events over the years. Most notably the 1994 King of the Ring, No Mercy, No Way Out 2006, Backlash 2008, Extreme Rules, TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Payback, and Extreme Rules as well as multiple Raw and SmackDown! tapings. Major title changes to take place in the Arena include Superstar Billy Graham over Bruno Sammartino in 1977 for the WWWF championship and Tito Santana over Greg Valentine in 1985 for the WWF Intercontinental title in a steel cage match.
In 1989, the Arena was host to the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships. Three years later, the International Olympic Committee held the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials there. In 1995, the Arena was host to the NCAA Men's Basketball Division 1 games.
The NBA's Washington Bullets played 35 regular season "home" games at the arena from January 1989 through March 1997; their final game at the arena was a 94–87 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on March 29, 1997. The team has yet to play a regular season game in Baltimore under its current Wizards moniker.
2000s
The Arena has also been a staple on the PBR's Built Ford Tough Series bull riding tour. It first visited the Arena from 2001 to 2003, then came back again from 2008 to 2010. It returned in 2012 and again in 2015.On October 25, 2003, Maryland's Good Charlotte performed at the Arena. In July 2004, the Arena was host to the US debut of Japanese rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel, as part of the anime and east Asian culture convention Otakon.
On December 3–4, 2004, the Arena hosted the final Vans Triple Crown Of Freestyle Motocross events.
On February 1, 2006, the Arena hosted the first concert by The Rolling Stones, in Baltimore, since 1969, which was also at the Arena.
On February 19, 2006, No Way Out 2006 was held in Baltimore, the WWE's first pay-per-view in the city since No Mercy 2003. Kurt Angle defeated The Undertaker to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.
The 2006 Miss USA Pageant was held here on April 21, 2006.
On February 11, 2008, the Arena also hosted a rally for presidential candidate Barack Obama.
On April 27, 2008, Backlash 2008 was held in Baltimore. Triple H defeated Randy Orton to win the WWE Championship.
On November 20, 2009, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performed at the Arena, recreating the entirety of their landmark album Born to Run; it was their first tour stop in Baltimore since 1973. Several country-pop music acts have made tour stops at the Arena, including Carrie Underwood and George Strait.
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