The Rose Garden Arena is the main sports arena in Portland, Oregon, USA and is currently managed by Global Spectrum, a company which manages sports facilities (and which also owns several sports franchises). The arena, which opened on October 12, 1995 with a ceremony to honor Blazers' fans and the construction workers who built it, was originally capable of seating 20,340 spectators for NBA basketball. Its capacity has since been reduced to 19,980 by subsequent modifications. At the time of its construction, the arena was considered a state-of-the-art facility; newer facilties have since surpassed the Rose Garden in amenities. The first regular season game to be played at the Rose Garden was the Trail Blazers hosting the then-Vancouver Grizzlies on November 3, 1995.

Ground was broken in 1993 by Paul Allen, the owner of the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team, who are the arena's primary tenant. The name was chosen both to reflect the Portland's well-known status as the Rose City, and also in reference to the famous Boston Garden and Madison Square Garden arenas in Boston and New York City, respectively. The arena was initially owned by the Oregon Arena Corporation, a private corporation whose sole shareholder was Allen. Its construction was funded in part by a $155 million loan from a consortium of lenders who included TIAA-CREF, Prudential Insurance, and Farmers Insurance.

The Rose Garden was designed by the architectural firm Ellerbe Becket of Kansas City.

The financing of the Rose Garden construction was widely hailed at the time of a good example of public-private partnership: most of the costs were borne by Allen rather than by taxpayers. The primary public contribution to the project was the transfer of the underlying land. The City of Portland owns the adjacent Memorial Coliseum and parking garages, but all are managed by the same group managing the Rose Garden. (The tract of land containing both arenas; as well as adjacent businesses and parking structures, is known as the Rose Quarter). This deal occurred in an era in which it was common for team owners to demand public financing of new arenas and stadiums (using the threat of moving the sports franchise as leverage).

The final price tag for the Rose Garden, office building, entertainment complex, three new garages and renovation to Memorial Coliseum was $262 million.

Tri-Met's Rose Quarter TC MAX stations and several bus lines serve the Rose Garden. The Rose Garden is located on the eastbanks of the Willamette River in the Lloyd District across from Downtown. Nearby landmarks include the Steel Bridge, the Oregon Convention Center, and the Eastbank Esplanade.

[Source: Wikipedia]

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