Kaiser Permanente Arena

Kaiser Permanente Arena is an indoor arena located in Santa Cruz, in the U.S. state of California. It has a seating capacity of 2,505 spectators.[3] It hosts the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League. It was also the home of the Santa Cruz Derby Girls of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association in 2013 and 2014.[4] The naming rights were bought by health care consortium Kaiser Permanente (KP) despite the company—a sponsor of the Warriors' owner, the NBA's Golden State Warriors—not having facilities in Santa Cruz at the time.[5] KP has since opened medical facilities in Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley and Watsonville.

Kaiser Permanente Arena
LocationSanta Cruz, California, United States
Capacity2,505
Construction
Broke groundSeptember 18, 2012[1]
OpenedDecember 23, 2012
Construction cost$3.5 million[2]
Tenants
Santa Cruz Warriors (NBA G League) (2012–present)
UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs (NCAA DIII) (2013–present)
Santa Cruz Derby Girls (WFTDA) (2013–2014)

History

A $3.5 million loan by the city of Santa Cruz was given to the Warriors to build their arena, with the 1.5-acre lot being provided by the Santa Cruz Seaside Company, owner of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Construction ran for 78 days between September and December 2012, halted just a few times by rain.[6] The arena was opened on December 23, 2012, with a victory by the Warriors against the Bakersfield Jam.[7]

By April 2014, Kaiser Permanente Arena had 39 sell-outs out of the 53 Warriors home games. In the meantime, the Warriors reached two D-League finals.[8] The arena has a seating capacity of 2,505.[9]

The arena also serves as the home of UC Santa Cruz men's and women's basketball games. In November 2017, UC Santa Cruz hosted a Thanksgiving basketball tournament at Kaiser Permanente Arena.[10]

The United States men's national basketball team hosted their FIBA World Cup qualifying first-round games at Kaiser Permanente Arena on February 23, 2018 against Cuba and on February 26, 2018 against Puerto Rico.[11]

Due to COVID restrictions on games in Santa Clara County, the Stanford men's and Stanford women's basketball teams played some games of the 2020-21 season at the arena. [12]

See also

References
  1. "NBA Development League: Project FAQs". NBA.com. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  2. Julie Jag, Santa Cruz Sentinel (June 13, 2012). "Santa Cruz Warriors presence adds interest to NBA draft". Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  3. "City of Santa Cruz : Kaiser Permanente Arena". Archived from the original on April 23, 2013. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 19, 2013. Retrieved April 26, 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Warriors unveil logo and arena sponsor for Santa Cruz team". Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  6. "Ready to go: Santa Cruz Warriors arena passes inspections, city reminds fans about parking for home opener". Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  7. May, Jacob. "NBA D-League: Santa Cruz Warriors slam Jam in inaugural home game". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  8. "Love of the Game: Bond between Warriors, city a surprising success". Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  9. Hayes, Reggie (May 23, 2015). "Untitled". News-Sentinel. Fort Wayne, Indiana.
  10. "Bearcats Squash Banana Slugs in Overtime, 56-52, at UCSC Thanksgiving Classic". US Official News. Plus Media Solutions. Willamette University. November 28, 2017.
  11. "Mad Ants' Trey McKinney-Jones added to USA roster". News-Sentinel. Fort Wayne, Indiana. February 8, 2018.
  12. "Next Stop: Santa Cruz (gostanford.com)". December 14, 2020.

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