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The Four Seasons Arena is a multi-purpose indoor sports and exhibition arena located in the city of Great Falls, Montana, in the United States. Constructed in 1979, it served primarily as an ice rink until 2005. The failure of the practice rink's refrigeration system in 2003 and the management's decision to close the main rink in 2006 led to the facility's reconfiguration as an indoor sports and exhibition space. As of May 2011 it is the largest exhibition, music, and sports venue in the city. ==Conception and construction== Prior to the construction of the Four Seasons Arena, the city of Great Falls had no large indoor sports arena. The gymnasium at Great Falls High School, built in 1930, sat about 1,200 on wooden benches〔"Bison Slip Past Skyview." ''Great Falls Tribune.'' January 25, 2009.〕 in an area designed for use primarily as a basketball court. The Great Falls Civic Center, built in 1939, contained an ice rink but no other sports facilities. The College of Great Falls built the McLaughlin Center in 1966, which contained an Olympic-size swimming pool and 1,800-seat gym designed for use as a basketball court.〔"Recreation and Travel." ''Great Falls Tribune.'' February 13, 2011.〕 The city's largest sports venue was the gymnasium at Charles M. Russell High School. The gym, constructed in 1963, sat 4,000 in a basketball court.〔"Teams Ask Voters for an Assist." ''Great Falls Tribune.'' October 29, 2003.〕 The lack of a large indoor sports center inhibited the growth of professional sports in the city, as well as the city's ability to host major high school athletic tournaments. In 1975, the city of Billings constructed the Montana's Entertainment, Trade and Recreation Arena (or METRA), a 12,000 seat multi-purpose arena. In 1977, an organization known as Leadership Great Falls (a program of the Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce) undertook a process to provide city civic and business leaders with a vision for the city of Great Falls. Out of this year-long process came the request for the city to construct a large, multi-purpose, indoor sports arena.〔"Xpo Won't Predict the Future—It Will Make It Happen." ''Great Falls Tribune.'' February 21, 2010.〕 Great Falls City Commissioner John St. Jermain championed the effort to build an arena, and fought for a ballot initiative in 1977 that would have used city tax dollars to build it. But voters rejected the proposal.〔Young, Jeannie. "Former Commissioner Dies at Age 80." ''Great Falls Tribune.'' July 31, 1999.〕〔Johnson, Peter. "High Plains Development Authority." ''Great Falls Tribune.'' April 15, 2001.〕 St. Jermain then sought and won in 1978 a federal grant to pay for the majority of the cost of constructing the facility.〔 St. Jermain lost reelection in November 1978.〔 The Four Seasons Arena was built in 1979 on the grounds of the Montana State Fairgrounds (now known as Montana ExpoPark).〔Ecke, Richard. "Couple's Gift Helps Keep Local Ice Rink Dream Alive." ''Great Falls Tribune.'' July 29, 2007.〕 Because it was built primarily with the federal grant and few other funds, the arena was half the size initially proposed.〔 Indeed, Four Seasons Arena was built primarily as an ice rink.〔〔Another major sports venue was constructed in Great Falls at the same time. This was Bison Fieldhouse, now known as R.W. "Bill" Swarthout Fieldhouse, on the campus of Great Falls High School. The fieldhouse included a 3,500-seat basketball court/indoor track and an Olympic-sized swimming pool. See: "Prep Notebook." ''Great Falls Tribune.'' April 15, 2003.〕 It also lacked air conditioning.〔Puckett, Karl. "County Pouring $3.2 Million Into Public Buildings." ''Great Falls Tribune.'' August 31, 2009.〕 The arena originally housed two ice rinks:〔Blanchette, John. "Pro Hoops In Montana Is Everything It Auto Be." ''Spokane Spokesman-Review.'' October 14, 1984.〕 A main rink and a "side" or practice rink.〔("Building Details." Four Seasons Arena. Montana ExpoPark. 2009. ) Accessed 2011-05-14.〕 With four days' notice, the main ice rink could be thawed and flooring laid down to transform the main section of the arena from an ice rink into a basketball court, rodeo arena, or exhibition hall.〔Johannes, Katie N. "Arena Users Submit Proposal for New Floor." ''Great Falls Tribune.'' August 8, 2001.〕 Removal and restoration of the ice took another four days. As initially constructed, Four Seasons Arena had a seating capacity in the main arena of 6,314.〔Oyan, Katie. "SMG Fee to Exceed $75,000." ''Great Falls Tribune.'' October 18, 2002.〕 In 1994, Great Falls city voters approved a $7.9 million bond initiative to build a new exhibition hall on the fairgrounds, renovate the fair's historic buildings and Four Seasons Arena, and generally improve landscaping, lighting, and walkways at the fair.〔 The Exhibition Hall (capable of seating up to 1,500 people) was constructed in 1995.〔("Building Details." Exhibition Hall. Montana ExpoPark. 2009. ) Accessed 2011-05-14.〕〔"Western Art Lovers Flood the Falls Each Year." ''Great Falls Tribune.'' March 23, 2003.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Four Seasons Arena」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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