Hara Arena

Hara Arena is a 5,500-seat multi-purpose arena located in the Dayton, Ohio suburb of Trotwood.

At one time, it hosted the Dayton Jets basketball team and Dayton Gems, Dayton Blue Hawks, Dayton Owls, Dayton Bombers and Dayton Ice Bandits ice hockey teams and The Marshals indoor football team.

Currently, it hosts the Dayton Demonz of the FHL and the Dayton Sharks of the CIFL.

History
The site was originally the family-owned fruit orchard of Harold and Ralph Wampler.The name stems from HA from Harold and RA from Ralph. In 1956, the Wampler Ballroom was erected, which still stands today in the six-building complex. The arena itself opened in 1964. The original plans did not include an ice rink, but were changed to accommodate the Dayton Gems who were looking for a home arena. The complex now spans 165000 sqft which consists of the main arena, four exhibition halls, a conference center, a pub and a golf course.

This arena is where Wayne Gretzky played his first professional hockey game; a pre-season game between the Indianapolis Racers and the Cincinnati Stingers, on September 27, 1978.

Championship Teams at Hara

 * 1968-69 Dayton Gems
 * 1969-70 Dayton Gems
 * 1975-76 Dayton Gems

Professional wrestling
Hara was the scene every other Monday night in the 60's & 70's for the "Original" Big Time Wrestling, featuring such stars as the Sheik, Bobo Brazil, Fred & Bull Curry, Igor, Mark Lewin, Ox Baker, and many other wrestling stars. The ring announcer for most of the events was Les Pomervlle. Hara also hosted Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1983 & 1984. It also hosted a WWF Superstars of Wrestling TV taping in March, 1987, a WWF Wrestling Challenge taping in August, 1988, and the Pay-Per-View events as follows: the 1995 WCW Great American Bash, WCW/NWO Souled Out 1998, and ECW Heatwave 1998 and ECW Heatwave 1999.

Other events
The arena is also venue to many types of concerts, music festivals, trade shows and conventions, including the annual Dayton Hamvention. The Dayton Hamvention and the Miami Valley Home Improvement Show also take place yearly here.

Hara Arena was also one of the tour stops for the Taste of Chaos tour until the tour stopped and changed its name to the Uproar Festival.

The Jacksons performed at Hara Arena on August 23, 1981 during their Triumph Tour.