The SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center is a 10,300-seat multi-purpose arena in Honolulu CDP,[3]City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, on the campus of the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UH). Initially named the Special Events Arena when it opened in 1994, the arena was renamed the Stan Sheriff Center in 1998 in honor of Stan Sheriff (1932–1993), a former UH athletic director who lobbied for its construction. Bank of Hawaii secured naming rights on a 10-year, $5-million contract announced on November 12, 2020, which added a prefix to the facility's official name—"SimpliFi" being the brand name of the bank's digital banking experience.[4]
On May 12, 1998, the Miss Universe pageant was held at the Center.[6] As Hawaii's largest indoor arena, the Stan Sheriff Center is the site of many major concert tours in Honolulu. Concert capacity is 11,000 for an end-stage show and 11,300 for a center-stage show.
World Championship Wrestling used the Stan Sheriff Center as its Hawaiian stop from 1994 until the organization folded in 2001.
The arena hosted two NBA preseason games between the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz on October 4 and 6, 2015. Both were designated as Lakers home games; the Jazz swept the short series, winning the second game in overtime.
The arena again hosted two NBA preseason games between the Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors on October 1 and 3, 2017. Toronto ended up winning the first game, while the Clippers won the second game. The Clippers returned in 2018 for a preseason game against the Sydney Kings. The Clippers once more hosted two more preseason games in 2019 one against the Houston Rockets on October 3, 2019, which Houston won and another against the Shanghai Sharks on October 6, 2019, which the Clippers won.
