WILKES-BARRE TWP. — On the morning of Nov. 13, 1999, then-state Rep. Kevin Blaum left his home in Wilkes-Barre for a jog to the crowning achievement of his career — a new arena set to open that night with a professional hockey game.
But bad news awaited. A section of bleachers hadn’t been inspected by the state and opening night must be postponed, he was told.
Blaum was undeterred. It was just another hurdle he and other arena backers confronted in their dream to bring a world-class entertainment venue to Northeast Pennsylvania. After Blaum made a few phone calls, then-Gov. Tom Ridge immediately dispatched an inspector to the site.
Opening night was saved and history was made.
That evening, a sold-out crowd jammed into the Northeastern Pennsylvania Civic Arena and Convention Center to watch the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defeat the Kentucky Thoroughblades and launch a new era of entertainment in the region.
“It was a glorious night,” the now-retired Blaum recalled recently from his home in Kingston. “When I saw my first hockey game here, I knew it would work in Northeastern Pennsylvania.”
Wednesday marks 20 years since the arena first opened its doors.
Over those two decades, the facility — now known as Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza — hosted budding hockey stars, national recording artists, professional wrestlers, presidents and more. Artists that played the arena include Bob Dylan, the Dead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Elton John, the Eagles, Simon & Garfunkel, AC/DC, Josh Groban, Neil Diamond, Cher and Janet Jackson. Other main events included the Harlem Globetrotters, Disney on Ice, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus, WWE events and rallies for Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump.
In addition to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the arena hosted the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers, an arena football team, for several years. Other sports events included an NBA preseason game between the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets in 2003. Two years later, two area high school basketball stars had a homecoming at the arena with their college squads, as Scranton native and Syracuse star Gerry McNamara faced off against Bishop O’Reilly graduate and Towson freshman Tim Crossin.
It has also hosted conventions, graduations and job fairs.
Rapid economic growth nearby followed the arena’s arrival, making Wilkes-Barre Twp. a top shopping and dining area.
‘Arena Yes’ battle
The opening of the arena was a nearly 10-year battle with Blaum leading the “Arena Yes” charge. Many didn’t want to pay for it and “Taxes No” became an opposing battle cry.
The former coal mining land is now a hub of economic success thanks to the arena, said Steve Barrouk, then-president of the Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce, which donated the land for the proposed arena.
Another battle crossed county lines. Luzerne County competed with Lackawanna County to be awarded money for an arena — and the sitting governor, Bob Casey, was from Scranton.
In the end, Casey awarded $19.2 million for the arena to be built in Wilkes-Barre Twp., a location just off of Interstate 81 and easily accessible when a planned new exit was built. The arena grounds are known as Casey Plaza, a nod to the late governor’s help.
Blaum, who took office in 1980, had gotten up to $25 million approved in the capital budget for an arena, but Casey needed to approve the release of the funds. When Ridge took office, he also allocated $2 million for the arena.
While the state pledged money, matching funds were needed. Blaum said the sitting county commissioners had pledged to Casey they would guarantee municipal bonds floated by the county-appointed arena authority to pay the local share.
Instead, in February 1995, the commissioners announced they were putting the issue up for a public vote in the May 1995 election. About $22 million in additional funding was needed.
In response, the “Arena Yes” political action committee was formed to urge voters to approve of the county’s guarantee of municipal bonds to build the arena. Campaign signs, bumper stickers and buttons emblazoned with “Arena Yes” were made to promote the cause. Some opposed to the loan guarantee created a “Taxes No” coalition.
The measure failed by 48 votes out of nearly 82,600 votes cast.
Find the funding
Many thought the arena idea was dead, but backers vowed to continue to find an alternative way to fund the project.
One of funding mechanisms was a hotel tax Blaum helped get passed in the state House that imposed a 5% fee on hotel stays in Luzerne County. A total of 80% of the revenue from the tax would go toward construction of the arena.
As they searched for more funding, officials had to scale back the project to cut costs. The original design was 10,000 seats, but was reduced to 8,500. A large swath of the parking lot wouldn’t be paved. There would be no overhead scoreboard.
Eventually, bonds were sold and the hotel tax continues to pay down the debt.
With funding in place, local officials were able to lure the Pittsburgh Penguins minor league hockey team to become anchor tenant.
Hundreds of local people gathered at the future arena site on May 30, 1998, for an official “arena rising” ceremony to celebrate the start of construction. Over a year later, the arena opened.
After the first home game, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins quickly established themselves as one of the top-drawing teams in the American Hockey League, selling out 26 games.
Casey’s legacy
Casey never stepped foot in the arena he was so instrumental in delivering to the region. By opening day, he was too ill to attend. He died in May 2000, six months after the arena opened.
His son, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, then the state auditor general, attended on his behalf to watch his father be honored.
Casey said his father was in a difficult spot politically when Luzerne and Lackawanna counties were competing for the arena dollars, but in his heart he felt the Wilkes-Barre Twp. project was the better option.
“That’s the person he was,” Casey said. “I have never met a public official more deliberate than he was.”
Arena transformed region
At the time the arena opened, prime real estate in area industrial parks was going for around $10,000 to $15,000 an acre, Barrouk said.
After the arena and the new exit opened, surrounding land skyrocketed to $175,000 to $500,000 per acre, he said.
The once mine-scarred land is now the site of dozens of stores, restaurants and hotels.
Lowe’s was the first store to open in the Arena Hub shopping plaza in November 1998 — one year before the arena opened. Then new businesses flocked to the area, including Barnes & Noble, PetSmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Best Buy, Olive Garden and Outback Steakhouse.
When Exit 46, now Exit 168, opened in 1999, another business boom took place. The $10.9 million Highland Park Boulevard opened in 2002, linking the arena to Coal Street and the Wyoming Valley Mall.
Economic development in the arena’s shadow continues.
The Luzerne County Convention Center Authority, the governing body of Mohegan Sun Arena, contracted with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance in 2014 to study the arena’s economic impact.
The study, which was released in 2015, showed that total estimated output or economic activity as a result of the arena, including impact from visitors, was $62.6 million in 2013.
Total estimated employment was 1,141 jobs, including full-time and part-time, and total estimated labor income was $22.6 million.
Contact the writer:
bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com;
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