Rio Rancho Events Center is an 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, a city located near Albuquerque. The arena is located near the intersection of Unser Boulevard and Paseo del Volcan. It is part of a larger "City Center" project, which also includes a new city hall. The multipurpose facility can host concert settings in various capacities, hockey, basketball, indoor football, family shows, rodeos, trade shows and flexible set-ups to accommodate any event.
Santa Ana Star Casino purchased the naming rights to the arena in a five-year, $2.5 million deal signed in July 2006.[1] The arena was previously known as Santa Ana Star Center. The contract was not renewed in 2020, resulting in the arena changing its name back to Rio Rancho Events Center.
The arena was completed at a cost of $47 million USD and opened on October 21, 2006.[2] The first sports event in the arena was a hockey game on October 27, 2006, with the New Mexico Scorpions falling to the Arizona Sundogs 3–1 in front of a sellout crowd.[3]
In April 2009, the city of Rio Rancho awarded Global Spectrum as the management company for the Arena. In 2019, that contract was renewed.
