The Westchester County Center is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose
arena in
White Plains, New York. It hosts various local concerts and sporting events for the area.
The County Center was conceived by the Westchester Recreation Commission in 1924 as a multi-purpose indoor recreational facility to host community programs and income-producing commercial events. It was designed by the architectural firm of
Walker & Gillette, and built and decorated in the
Art Deco style. The construction project cost approximately $785,000; a $16-million rehabilitation was completed in 1988.
Notable events
Grand opening was held May 22, 1930 features pianist
Percy Grainger, Metropolitan Opera Company tenor
Edward Johnson, organist Palmer Christian [2]
First Westchester Music Festival is held in July, 1930 in the newly opened center [3]
Governor
Herbert H. Lehman winds up his campaign with an address at a rally of the American Labor party in 1936 [4]
Joe Baksi, future heavyweight contender, beat future movie actor
Jack Palance (who fought under the name of Jack Brazzo) on December 17, 1940.[5]
The
boxrec database lists nearly 500 cards held at Westchester over the years dating back to 1934, with televised Tuesday night bouts a staple in the early 1950s.[6]
At the start of his first world tour,
Bob Dylan performed in concert on February 5, 1966.
The Who played a show including their rock opera Tommy on November 3, 1969.
The
Westchester Golden Apples, a charter franchise of the minor league, summertime
United States Basketball League, played at the County Center in 1985. A second USBL team, the Westchester Kings, played at the Center in 1997.
The
New York Liberties volleyball team used the Center as their home venue in 1988.[7]
In 2019, the arena was the home venue for the expansion
New York Streets of the
National Arena League. As the arena was too small to fit a regulation
indoor football field of 50 yards plus end zones, the team played on a field that was marked as 50-yard field but was actually about 38 yards.[10] The Streets folded after one season.
During March 2020, it was announced that the Westchester County Center would be used to hold COVID-19 patients during the
COVID-19 pandemic.[11]