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It’s easy to mark the success of the Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza, so much so that it has become hard to remember the initial failure when voters narrowly rejected a funding referendum. In what supporters saw as a comeback story and critics called an end-run around the will of the people, then State Rep. Kevin Blaum worked to arrange the bonds necessary for construction, and even then, money ran out within a year after breaking ground. And as as a recap in a celebratory insert with Sunday’s paper reminded us, officials from the international headquarters of the First Union Bank stepped in to secure more bond money.
Now, a quarter century later, the Arena proved to be the economic stimulus proponents predicted, bringing in a bevy of big box stores, restaurants, a Walmart Supercenter and much more. Well, some of that development may have been helped by the addition of a new junction with Interstate 81, but the junction was part of the dream early in the Arena proposals.
The list of concerts hosted by the venue encompasses a wide array of music, with some truly big stars. It even hosted a rare reunion of Simon and Garfunkel. When the circus came to town, it set up there. The Lipizzaner Stallions showed off their power, prowess and sophisticated training. The arena has corralled rodeos and garaged car shows. People come through its doors for trade shows, home and garden tips and deals, and employment fairs.
The ice comes out for Disney shows, for the home games of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins ice hockey team, and for the heartwarming Toys for Tots skate. Bridal shows, culinary shows, wine and whiskey fests, bull riding and even religious conventions have found the space suitable.
We wouldn’t want to count the number of tasseled “mortar boards” that have been tossed toward the Arena rafters over 25 years, as both high schools and institutions of higher learning keep deciding its the best place around for graduation ceremonies.
Which might be the best example of the one intangible the arena has brought to the area: 25 years of memories. A lot of people recall the favorite moment of a favorite concert, the touching or funny part of a show, the exhilaration of a high-wire act, the thrill of a giant car crushing puny conventional vehicles, life-like dinosaurs coming eye to eye with youngsters in the audience, a wince-inducing WWE move, a breathtaking hockey shot, a humorous display of basketball handling by the Harlem Globetrotters — or just the touching graduation moment.
Like the time Lizzie Breznay gave the Luzerne County Community College graduate address. The catch: Lizzie is non-verbal. She composed and gave the speech using a Tobii device that tracks her eyes as she looks at a screen and translates the words into a synthesized voice.
So yeah, the arena had a rocky start — literally, in the case of initial budget-saving gravel for the parking lot. And yes, there are times the traffic can be maddening because of the crowds it draws and the development it spurred. But it has survived and thrived for 25 years, and in that time it has entertained, educated, celebrated and showcased life in Luzerne County. And while it’s walls can’t, of course, talk, all the people who have attended it’s many events can, do, and are sure to continue to remember what it brought to their lives.