Toyota Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Ontario, California, United States. The arena hosts local sporting events and concerts and is suitable for indoor events, including basketball, ice hockey, ice shows, boxing, graduation ceremonies and concerts. The arena's basketball capacity is 10,832; 9,736 for hockey; and has a full capacity configuration for 11,089 spectators. The 225,000-square-foot (20,900 m2) venue also has 36 luxury suites on two levels.[1] Construction officially began on March 7, 2007, and the arena was opened on October 18, 2008.[1] It is the largest and most modern arena within the Inland Empire region of Southern California.[1]
The arena's construction cost was US$150 million; however, it was debt free due to the city of Ontario selling different properties throughout the city.[7] It was constructed on the old Ontario Motor Speedway property.[8] The arena is public property and owned by the city of Ontario. From 2008 to 2016 the facility was operated by AEG Worldwide, and has since been operated by successor ASM Global, which took over operations on July 1, 2016.[9][2] The arena is home to the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League and the Empire Strykers of the Major Arena Soccer League.
Description
Name
The arena was announced as Ontario Community Events Center in October 2006 when the project was approved.[10] On October 20, 2006, Ontario-based Citizens Business Bank bought the naming rights and the arena was called Citizens Business Bank Arena when it opened in 2008.[11]
On June 11, 2019, the arena entered a new naming-rights agreement with the Southern California Toyota Dealership Association and was renamed Toyota Arena.[12]
Tenants
In November 2007, it was announced that a new ECHL franchise would be playing at the arena starting in the 2008–09 season.[13] The arena became home of the Ontario Reign, an affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings.[14] The ECHL Reign played their home games at the arena each season from 2008 to 2015.[15]
Starting in the 2017–18 season the arena became home of the Agua Caliente Clippers (later renamed Ontario Clippers), the NBA G League team of the Los Angeles Clippers. On March 11, 2024, the team announced the club would be relocating to Oceanside, California and rebranding as the San Diego Clippers.
Events
The arena held its grand opening on October 18, 2008.[18]
Basketball
On October 24, 2008, its first event took place in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,316, for an NBA preseason game, where the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 105–94.[19] There has been a Lakers' preseason game every year at the arena with the exception of 2011 due to the 2011 NBA lockout.
The Reign held its first game at the arena on October 25, 2008, against the Las Vegas Wranglers in front of a crowd of 8,832. The Reign won their first game at the arena 4–1.[20]
Since 2010, the arena has been the Inland Empire's stop for WWE, replacing the smaller Coussoulis Arena in San Bernardino. The arena has hosted various WWE Live events and various tapings for WWE Raw and SmackDown.[38][39][40][41][42] The Smackdown/Main Event tapings on February 11, 2014, were the first time WWE televised an event from the Inland Empire since taping four editions of WWE Raw at the Orange Pavilion in San Bernardino on April 1, 1996.
From 2014 to 2017, the arena hosted the annual CIF Southern Section Boys Masters Wrestling Championships. In 2018, the event was moved to Temecula Valley High School, where the event had been previously held, due to scheduling conflicts.[43][44]
The arena is commonly used for high school graduation ceremonies throughout late May/early June. Most of the high schools originate from the Inland Empire and eastern edge of the San Gabriel Valley. These include the Corona-Norco Unified, Fontana Unified, Rialto Unified, Chino Valley Unified, and Upland Unified School Districts.
