Mechanics Bank Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Bakersfield, California. Located downtown at the corner of Truxtun Avenue and N Street, it was built in 1998, and was originally known as Centennial Garden. Bay Area based Mechanics Bank has held the naming rights since September of 2019, following their merger with Rabobank NA.
About
The arena is home to the Bakersfield Condors, an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League and occasional California State University, Bakersfield Roadrunners Men's NCAA Division I basketball games. Mechanics Bank Arena is also the current home to the California Interscholastic Federation High School State Wrestling Championship Tournament held the first weekend in March. As a concert venue, the arena seats 6,400 for half-house shows and up to 10,225 for center stage and end-stage shows. The arena floor measures of total space. The southern concourse of Mechanics Bank Arena serves as the exhibit home of the Bob Elias Kern CountySports Hall of Fame. The Bob Elias Kern County Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes and people involved with athletics from Bakersfield and Kern County. They include nationally prominent athletes, local coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to athletics. A separate display on the western concourse honors the founders of Bakersfield and Kern County, as well as country music legend Buck Owens and current athletes and dignitaries from Bakersfield and Kern County. Attached to the arena is the Mechanics Bank Theater and Convention Center, a exhibit hall and 3,000-seat theater. The complex was originally known as the Bakersfield Civic Auditorium and was later renamed the Bakersfield Convention Center in the 1980s. In front of the arena is a city parkspace, Centennial Plaza. The Plaza has a large fountain that drains into the concrete of the plaza, a stage, a sculpture fountain, art work, and bricks commemorating the City of Bakersfield's Centennial as an incorporated city in 1998. In their first year in the Western Athletic Conference, the Roadrunners moved into Rabobank Arena full-time but they moved back to campus for the 2014-15 season. Also in recent years, ASM Global has taken over management of the Arena. The arena was originally named Centennial Garden in 1998 by local resident Brian Landis.
