The Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon is a large indoor arena located in the city's downtown area and convenient to transportation lines on the city's popular MAX Light Rail trains. Opened in 1995, the $267 million arena hosts many events throughout the year and provides entertainment for tourists and locals alike.
The Rose Garden hosts many sporting events throughout the year. Portland's sports teams include the Portland Trailblazers in the NBA, and the Western Hockey League team, the Portland Winterhawks. The Rose Garden hosts home games for both teams.
In addition, the Rose Garden hosts Ice skating shows, WWE wresting and martial arts events, as well as the Dew Tour which involves extreme skateboarding and BMX bike stunts.
Though Portland is home to many concert venues, the Rose Garden remains one of the most popular thanks to its large size and auditorium seating. In 2010 the Rose Garden held concert events featuring artists such as Tim McGraw, Lady Gaga, Alice in Chains and Jimmy Buffett.
The Rose Garden has hosted circus events such as the Shrine Circus and Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey. These circuses feature elephants, big cats, horses and exotic animals, as well as typical circus features such as clowns and other circus performers.
The Rose Garden features special events throughout the year. In the past, these have ranged from a religious gathering of women, called Women of Faith, to exhibits such as the Portland Renovation and Remodeling Show. In 2010 the Rose Garden also featured "Walking With Dinosaurs." This live theatrical event included life-size dinosaur recreations controlled by a team of puppeteers, designed to give the audience "an “in person” experience of being with the Dinosaurs as they walked the earth millions of years ago," according to the Walking with Dinosaurs website.
