The Westchester County Center is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena in White Plains, New York. It hosts various local concerts and sporting events for the area.
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.jpg) Facade of the Westchester County Center | |
  Westchester County Center Location within New York State  Westchester County Center Location within the United States | |
| Address | 198 Central Avenue |
|---|---|
| Location | White Plains, New York 10606 |
| Coordinates | 41°2′13″N 73°46′43″W / 41.03694°N 73.77861°WCoordinates: 41°2′13″N 73°46′43″W / 41.03694°N 73.77861°W |
| Capacity | Basketball: 5,000 Concerts: 5,000 Indoor football: 3,000[1] |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1924 |
| Opened | 1930 |
| Renovated | 1988 |
| Tenants | |
| Westchester Golden Apples (USBL) (1985) New York Liberties (MLV) (1987–1989) Westchester Knicks (NBAGL) (2014–present) New York Liberty (WNBA) (2018–2019) New York Streets (NAL) (2019) | |
| Website | |
| www | |
The County Center was conceived by the Westchester Recreation Commission in 1924 as a multi-purpose indoor recreational facility to host community programs and income-producing commercial events. It was designed by the architectural firm of Walker & Gillette, and built and decorated in the Art Deco style. The construction project cost approximately $785,000; a $16-million rehabilitation was completed in 1988.
Notable eventsEdit
- Grand opening was held May 22, 1930 features pianist Percy Grainger, Metropolitan Opera Company tenor Edward Johnson, organist Palmer Christian [2]
- First Westchester Music Festival is held in July, 1930 in the newly opened center [3]
- Governor Herbert H. Lehman winds up his campaign with an address at a rally of the American Labor party in 1936 [4]
- Joe Baksi, future heavyweight contender, beat future movie actor Jack Palance (who fought under the name of Jack Brazzo) on December 17, 1940.[5]
- The boxrec database lists nearly 500 cards held at Westchester over the years dating back to 1934, with televised Tuesday night bouts a staple in the early 1950s.[6]
- The Who played a show including their rock opera Tommy on November 3, 1969.
- The New York Guard, a team in the short-lived All-American Basketball Alliance, played here in 1978.
- The Westchester Golden Apples, a charter franchise of the minor league, summertime United States Basketball League, played at the County Center in 1985. A second USBL team, the Westchester Kings, played at the Center in 1997.
- The New York Liberties volleyball team used the Center as their home venue in 1988.[7]
- Since the fall of 2014, it has been the home of the Westchester Knicks, the New York Knicks' farm team in the NBA G League.
- In 2018, it became the primary home of the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association.[8] The Liberty were purchased in 2019 by the owner of the Brooklyn Nets and will be moved to the Barclays Center in 2020.[9]
- In 2019, the arena was the home venue for the expansion New York Streets of the National Arena League. As the arena was too small to fit a regulation indoor football field of 50 yards plus end zones, the team played on a field that was marked as 50-yard field but was actually about 38 yards.[10] The Streets folded after one season.
- During March 2020, it was announced that the Westchester County Center would be used to hold non-COVID-19 patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] During a March 30, 2020 press conference in the White House Rose Garden, President Donald Trump discussed the conversion of the Westchester County Center to a makeshift hospital, although he referred to it as the "Westchester Community Center."[citation needed]
ReferencesEdit
- ^ "THE STREETS' HOME IN WESTCHESTER IS HISTORICAL, INTIMATE AND LOUD". New York Streets. February 20, 2019.
- ^ "History of the Westchester County Center". Westchester County Center. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
- ^ "TO BEGIN ORGAN RECITALS; Westchester's Summer Program Will Open Today in County Centre". The New York Times. July 6, 1930. p. 28.
- ^ "LEHMAN WIND-UP MONDAY; Ends Campaign With Talk at Labor Party Rally in White Plains". The New York Times. October 29, 1936. p. 15.
- ^ Boxrec Jack Brazzo aka Jack Palance
- ^ "Locate Events". BoxRec. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
- ^ Melvin, Tessa (6 March 1988). "Volleyball at Center". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
- ^ "MSG to Operate Liberty While Continuing to Pursue Sale, Westchester County Center to Serve as Team's Primary Home for 2018". New York Liberty. February 8, 2018.
- ^ "New York Liberty Announce Barclays Center as Home Venue Beginning in 2020". OurSports Central. October 17, 2019.
- ^ "Norling: IFW – What in the Streets is going on in the NAL!?". Last Word on Sports. April 23, 2019.
- ^ Lungariello, Mark (March 23, 2020). "Coronavirus: It'll take a week to add hospital beds at Westchester County Center". The Journal News.