The Kansas Expocentre was renamed on June 13, 2019, to the Stormont Vail Events Center after signing a ten-year partnership agreement with Topeka-based Stormont Vail Health.
It has hosted the Kansas State High School Activities Association Class 5A boys and girls state basketball tournaments since its opening, and the KSHSAA Class 5A and 6A volleyball state championships since 1992. The arena also hosts the USA Wrestling Kansas Kids state championship tournament every March.
Landon Arena is the main part of the events center. Other areas include the Exhibition Hall, a building for trade shows, and Domer Arena, a livestock/horse show arena.[1]
Features
Landon Arena contains 7,450 fixed seats, with over 2,550 floor seats. The arena is climate controlled and features computerized lighting, closed circuit TV security, a state-of-the-art sound system, 13-foot (4.0 m) drive-in entrance, plenty of power, and built-in ice capabilities.[2]
History
The 80-acre (320,000 m2) site in the center of Topeka has a long history of use for activities related to agriculture, farming, exhibitions, education and entertainment as the Shawnee County Fairgrounds.[citation needed] The grand opening of the Kansas Expocentre was on April 17, 1987, with a sold-out concert featuring Kenny Rogers, T. Graham Brown, and Ronnie Milsap.[3]
Landon Arena, named for Kansas' elder statesman, governor Alfred M. Landon (1887–1987) was built 1987. To tie the old buildings to the new facilities, an indoor passageway was constructed between the conference center and exhibit hall. It hosted the first Expocentre event with nearly 9,000 people attending a Topeka Sizzlers basketball game.
Significant events
Landon Arena has been the venue for many concerts, family shows, trade shows, consumer shows, horse shows, dog shows and a variety of exhibitions.
