2300 Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, used primarily for professional wrestling, boxing, mixed martial arts, and concert events. Originally known as Viking Hall, the venue has since been named XPW Arena, New Alhambra Sports & Entertainment Center, New Alhambra Arena, The Arena and Asylum Arena. It was known unofficially as the ECW Arena when it was home to Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) from 1993 to 2001 and as the CZW Arena and 3PW Arena when it was home to Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) and Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling (3PW), respectively, during the early 2000s.
The venue has hosted professional wrestling broadcasts including the first ECW pay-per-view Barely Legal, the first Dragon Gate USA pay-per-view Enter the Dragon, and the WWE television special NXT 2300. It has hosted professional boxing broadcasts including Friday Night Fights and Wednesday Night Fights, for which it was named ESPN2's 2006 Venue of the Year.
Recognized as the birthplace of American hardcore wrestling, the venue has been home to the Hardcore Hall of Fame since 2002.
History 1920–1985: Freight house The South Philadelphia venue was originally constructed in 1920 as a freight house. Railway tracks next to the building allowed freight trains to drop off cargo for storage and then continue on to their destinations. The tracks were eventually paved over to become an extension of West Ritner Street, allowing West Ritner Street to intersect with South Swanson Street. An elevated stretch of Interstate 95 was later erected above the venue.
1986–2002: South Philly Vikings management
Elias Stein and Leon Silverman of the law firm Stein & Silverman Family Partnership, Inc. purchased the freight house in 1986. The southern part of the facility was given the name Viking Hall when the South Philly Vikings, a local chapter of mummers, began utilizing it. They used the building to rehearse for the annual Mummers Parade, assembling and storing their floats within the facility. The South Philly Vikings also staged midnight bingo games at the venue to raise funds for their organization. Carmen "Butch" D'Amato of the South Philly Vikings served as the facility's general manager. The northern part of the building was occupied by retail space, most notably a dollar store and Forman Mills.
Extreme Championship Wrestling residency, 1993–2001
The southern part of the building gained worldwide recognition when it served as ECW Arena, home of professional wrestling promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling from May 1993 until the promotion's closure in April 2001. The promotion was charged $1,000 per month by Stein & Silverman Family Partnership, Inc. to rent the venue, and was also responsible for any damage caused by its performers.
With the venue's size and intimacy reminiscent of Japan's Korakuen Hall, its vocal live crowds became synonymous with Extreme Championship Wrestling's presentation of hardcore wrestling. Attendance frequently exceeded the venue's legal seating capacity of 1,060. Fans Bring the Weapons matches encouraged audience members to purchase items from the adjacent dollar store for wrestlers to strike each other with.Foley, Mick. Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p. 291) The promotion was sued after a fire stunt in October 1995 burned a member of the crowd. Frank Talent of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission was seen as an ally of the promotion, regularly turning a blind eye when regulations were violated.
Smart wrestling fans traveled from all over the world to experience the venue's atmosphere. Extreme Championship Wrestling founded their annual CyberSlam fan convention and supercard at the venue in February 1996. Future All Elite Wrestling founder Tony Khan attended The Doctor Is In as a teenager in August 1996, a show that featured his future star Chris Jericho. The Elvis Depressedly album New Alhambra was named after the venue, with frontman Mathew Lee Cothran deriving inspiration from a bloody Rob Van Dam match he witnessed from the crowd.
Extreme Championship Wrestling moved away from the supercard model, broadcasting its first pay-per-view event called Barely Legal from the venue in April 1997. The promotion never ran another live broadcast from the venue, as their pay-per-view provider Request TV wanted the company to run events in larger cities.
2002–2003: Xtreme Pro Wrestling management
Following the closure of Extreme Championship Wrestling in April 2001, Combat Zone Wrestling and Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling began running regular shows at the venue. Ring of Honor opted to run their shows at nearby Murphy Recreation Center, citing the need to establish their own legacy separate from ECW.
Controversy arose when Xtreme Pro Wrestling signed an exclusive lease with the venue in December 2002 and renamed the building XPW Arena, preventing other promotions from utilizing it. Kirk Farrington, who had worked for Xtreme Pro Wrestling in California, was named the venue's general manager. Forced to relocate, Combat Zone Wrestling moved their shows to CZW Arena in Southwest Philadelphia, Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling moved their shows to Electric Factory in Callowhill, and the South Philly Vikings established a new Viking Hall in East Passyunk Crossing.
In January 2003, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission banned barbed wire and light tubes from professional wrestling matches in response to violent Xtreme Pro Wrestling and Combat Zone Wrestling events at the venue.
The building's ownership evicted Xtreme Pro Wrestling from the venue in February 2003 after the promotion failed to make lease payments. Combat Zone Wrestling resumed running shows at the venue in March 2003, with Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling returning in November 2003.
2004–2012: Roger Artigiani management Peltz and Hand residency, 2004–2009
Roger Artigiani became the venue's general manager in 2004. That same year, the building's name was officially changed to New Alhambra Sports & Entertainment Center, which was later shortened to New Alhambra Arena in 2006. The name was suggested by J. Russell Peltz, who began co-promoting professional boxing cards at the venue with Joe Hand, Sr. in May 2004. It paid homage to the original Alhambra Movie Theater in South Philadelphia that hosted boxing in the 1950s and 1960s.
Renovations were undertaken at a cost of $500,000 to improve the building's infrastructure and increase its suitability for boxing. A 16-foot boxing ring was installed at the insistence of J. Russell Peltz, who believed that the small dimensions would force boxers to engage with each other and make bouts more exciting. The venue's bleachers were removed and replaced with folding chairs and skyboxes. Land was acquired for a 500-space parking lot that was built across from the venue under Interstate 95.
J. Russell Peltz and Joe Hand, Sr. announced in January 2009 that after a five-year partnership, they would stop promoting boxing cards at the venue and move their shows to The Blue Horizon. Although their claimed reason for leaving was a rent increase from $1,000 per month to $6,000 per month, the new rental fee was in actuality $2,500. The venue was then renamed to The Arena by general manager Roger Artigiani.
Asylum Fight League naming rights, 2010–2012
After The Blue Horizon closed in June 2010, J. Russell Peltz and Joe Hand, Sr. returned to once again promote boxing cards at the venue.
Roger Artigiani announced in October 2010 that mixed martial arts group Asylum Fight League had purchased the naming rights to the venue and renamed it Asylum Arena.
2012–2013: Arena Operating LLC management
Joanna Pang of the Trocadero Theatre (dba Arena Operating LLC) signed an exclusive lease with the venue in February 2012 with plans to renovate and convert it to a concert hall. Forced to relocate, Chikara moved their shows to Trocadero Theatre in Chinatown, while Combat Zone Wrestling moved their shows to Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees Township, New Jersey.
Arena Operating LLC was evicted by the building's ownership in April 2013 after Joanna Pang failed to complete her proposed renovations. Pang started the project but never completed it, leaving the venue stripped down to its bare walls.
2013–present: Roger Artigiani management
The venue reopened as 2300 Arena in May 2014, hosting a Peltz Boxing Promotions card for its soft launch. The name referenced a newly constructed entranceway at 2300 South Swanson Street, replacing the original entrance at 7 West Ritner Street.
Renovations were performed that saw a bar constructed in the lobby, with overall seating capacity rising to 1,300. The venue was modernized to accommodate conventions and other large events such as banquets and fashion shows.
Christy Bottie, an accomplished artist with Mural Arts Philadelphia and Roger Artigiani's business partner, was responsible for designing the renovated venue.
Notable events
Professional wrestling
An NWA World Title Tournament at the venue on August 27, 1994 ended with Shane Douglas defeating 2 Cold Scorpio in the finals to capture the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Douglas then threw down the NWA belt and declared himself ECW World Heavyweight Champion, effectively launching Extreme Championship Wrestling as a national promotion.
Extreme Championship Wrestling broadcast Barely Legal, their first live pay-per-view event from the venue on April 13, 1997. The event was headlined by Terry Funk defeating Raven to become ECW World Heavyweight Champion. Filmmaker Barry W. Blaustein included behind-the-scenes footage of this event in his documentary Beyond the Mat.
On June 10, 2005, an unauthorized Extreme Championship Wrestling reunion show called Hardcore Homecoming: An Extreme Reunion set a record gate for the venue with $135,000 in ticket sales. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission lifted their January 2003 ban on barbed wire for the main event Three-Way Dance between Sabu, Shane Douglas and Terry Funk.
The ECW brand of WWE ran a house show at the venue on June 24, 2006, with tickets for the event selling out in under four minutes. Rob Van Dam successfully defended his WWE Championship in the main event against Kurt Angle.
New Jack was banned from the venue following an incident during a Pro Wrestling Xplosion show on September 13, 2006 . He famously ordered Sprite at the venue's concession stand and was instead given 7 Up, prompting him to verbally harass the stand attendant and assault a member of the ring crew. This ban was later rescinded in 2012.
Scenes from The Wrestler were shot at the venue during the Combat Zone Wrestling show 9 F'N Years on February 9, 2008, with professional wrestler Necro Butcher having a prominent on-screen role in the film.
A Ring of Honor card on February 28, 2009 was filmed for broadcast as the debut episodes of Ring of Honor Wrestling on HDNet. The event was headlined by Bryan Danielson defeating Austin Aries.
Dragon Gate USA filmed their first pay-per-view event, Enter the Dragon at the venue on July 25, 2009. The card was headlined by Open the Dream Gate Champion Naruki Doi defeating Shingo Takagi in a non-title match. It was voted Best Major Show of 2009 by the readers of Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
In September 2009, independent wrestler Matt Riot died following a Pro Wrestling Academy training session at the venue where he collapsed from a brain hemorrhage.
Freedom Fight was filmed by Dragon Gate USA at the venue on November 28, 2009 for pay-per-view broadcast. The event was headlined by BxB Hulk defeating CIMA, Gran Akuma and YAMATO in an elimination match to become inaugural Open the Freedom Gate Champion.
Dragon Gate USA filmed their second-annual Enter the Dragon event at the venue for pay-per-view on July 24, 2010. The card was headlined by Bryan Danielson defeating Shingo Takagi in a dark match.