By Yasmeen Badich
Enmarket Arena, the new 9,500-seat arena in Savannah, GA, just celebrated its first anniversary, and what an inaugural year it was.
Enmarket Arena welcomed more than 330,000 fans through its doors to over 100 events, featuring many of the world’s top entertainers, including Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson, Eagles, Morgan Wallen, New Edition, Brooks & Dunn, Rod Wave, The Lumineers, and Andrea Bocelli, all sold-out shows, as well as Kane Brown, Earth, Wind & Fire, Widespread Panic, Pitbull, Bon Jovi, and Barry Manilow. In addition, the Harlem Globetrotters, Disney on Ice, WWE, Cirque du Soleil and AEW filled Enmarket Arena, much to the joy of families across the region. Adam Sandler, Mike Epps, John Mulaney and 85 South brought the laughs to Enmarket Arena during the first 12 months.
Savannah’s newest professional sports team, the Savannah Ghost Pirates of the ECHL, sold out 17 of their 
first 18 games at Enmarket Arena.
OVG360, managers and operators of Enmarket Arena, exceeded its promise to be a positive disruption in the Southeast by providing the Southeast with the best live entertainment and sports.
“Savannah is a terrific city for live entertainment,” said Peter Luukko, Co-Chair, OVG360. “Enmarket Arena is a fantastic facility that unites the community and brings the region together to see many of the world’s top performers. We’re grateful to Mayor Johnson and City Council for the opportunity to be part of the excitement here in Savannah. We look forward to many more exciting years here in Savannah.”
As part of the celebration, more than 1,000 guests attended the First Anniversary Community Day party at Enmarket Arena on Sunday, February 5, featuring live music, interactive hockey, basketball games, a magician, a dunk tank with proceeds going to local Boys & Girls Club, giveaways, food and beverage from local purveyors, and much more.
Journey and Toto performed a sold-out special first-anniversary concert on February 8.
According to OVG360, Enmarket Arena sold over 93,892 chicken tenders, 10,605 hot dogs, and an astonishing 829,568 soft drinks during its inaugural season. In addition, more than 135 tour buses pulled into the arena to set up events. The OVG360 staff set almost 60,000 chairs for the many different events during more than 100 changeovers.
OVG360, with a commitment to being sustainable, uses 100-percent recycled paper and materials at all concession stands at Enmarket Arena, and processed more than 1,000 pounds of food waste this year through ORCA to refine the waste and drain it, as opposed to sending it out as trash into a landfill.
“Our partners, guests, and promoters have truly helped make our success possible,” said OVG360’s Monty Jones Jr., General Manager, Enmarket Arena. “When we opened the venue last year, we made a promise to Savannah to feature something for everyone. We did just that and showed the region that Savannah is an entertainment destination. And, we have so much more for the region coming up.”
Yasmeen Badich is VP of Marketing for OVG360/Enmarket Arena.
