OC Sports & Entertainment Unveils $1B Renovation Plan For Honda Center In Anaheim

Anaheim’s beloved arena is getting a significant makeover. OC Sports & Entertainment (OCSE) announced the plans for Honda Center Encore, a privately funded $1 billion transformation of the Southern California arena that opened in 1993 and is the home of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks.

The Samueli family, owners of the hockey franchise, spearheads and funds the comprehensive Honda Center renovation project, which reimagines nearly the entire venue. Construction will be done in phases over the next two years, and the arena will remain open during that time. Populous is the architect behind the renovations, and Elevate Creative is overseeing interior design.

“This is more than just an investment in a venue — it’s an investment in Anaheim and the future of Orange County as a global destination for live entertainment,” Bill Foltz, chief executive officer of OCSE, said in a statement. “Honda Center Encore reflects our commitment to delivering a world-class experience for every guest, every visit — all made possible through the vision and generosity of the Samueli Family.”

Renovations began last fall, and the transformation of the 32-year-old building includes a new five-story south entrance that will give guests a grand arrival experience with a high-impact digital display to host outdoor viewing parties and community events. The arena will boast four new entry plazas, each with its own aesthetic, and escalators will also be added to improve vertical circulation and crowd flow.

Honda Center will soon have all-inclusive club-level seats that offer premium experiences for guests as well as new opera box suites on the main concourse. All 68 existing luxury suites will also be modernized, and operators plan to “refresh” food and beverage spaces with new concepts and the introduction of self-service technology to avoid long lines at the venue.

One of the most innovative ideas from the Honda Center Encore plan is how it plans to handle parking. In an effort to streamline entry onto the premises, OCSE said it will implement an all-inclusive model that eliminates the need for parking passes, allowing ticketholders to enter and exit parking garages without being stopped by an employee for confirmation or payment.

Three new parking garages will be built, totaling over 6,000 stalls, which increases available parking by nearly 60%, and two of them will be up and running in October.

“As our partnership approaches two decades, we are proud to be a part of this reimagining of the Honda Center into a world-class facility where dreams come true”, said Jennifer Symington, assistant vice president of marketing, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “This renewed commitment to the community and visitors will and make Orange County and the Honda Center a premier destination for sports and entertainment.”

Honda Center is seen as an anchor to OCVIBE, a 100-acre, $4 billion mixed-use district currently under development surrounding the arena that will reshape Orange County as a premier entertainment hub.

The home of the Anaheim Ducks is among the top arenas in the world and was No. 57 on Pollstar’s 2024 Year End Worldwide Top 200 Arena Grosses chart with a reported haul of $42.45 million last year.