Massari Arena

Massari Arena is a 3,900 seat multi-purpose arena in Pueblo, Colorado.[1] It was built in 1971, and underwent a reconstruction starting in 2006 and ending in 2008. The arena is the home of the Colorado State University-Pueblo ThunderWolves men's and women's basketball, wrestling, and volleyball programs.

Massari Arena

The arena's main entrance.
Location	2200 Bonforte Blvd. Pueblo, CO
Coordinates	38.309517°N 104.575499°W / 38.309517; -104.575499
Owner	Colorado State – Pueblo
Construction
Opened	1971
Renovated	2006–08

The arena is named for Colorado State Senator Vincent Massari who led the college's push to become a four-year university. Senator Massari was instrumental in obtaining funds for a new campus in the Belmont area of Pueblo, moving from the old junior college campus on Orman Avenue.

The arena was the site of a 1980 Van Halen concert that provided the backdrop for an enduring urban legend surrounding the band. The band's technical rider stated that concert organizers had to supply a bowl of M&M's backstage, with all brown pieces removed. In the wake of the concert, media reports indicated that the band caused $85,000 of damage to the arena after noticing brown M&M's. In his autobiography, lead singer David Lee Roth told a different story—he admitted to doing $12,000 in damage backstage, but indicated that over $80,000 of damage had been done to the arena's newly installed basketball floor because it could not support the band's extremely heavy staging.[2]