Culinary Code04

The Dunkin' Donuts Center, also known as The Dunk, is an indoor arena located in downtown Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Built in 1972 and originally known as the Civic Center, the arena was built as a place for the emerging Providence College men's basketball program and the high demand for tickets to their games in Alumni Hall, as well as for the then-Providence Reds, who played in the nearly fifty-year old Rhode Island Auditorium. The arena was known as the Providence Civic Center until a naming rights deal was reached with Dunkin' Donuts in June 2001. Current tenants include the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League and the Providence Friars men's basketball team.
In December 2005, the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority purchased the building from the city of Providence and spent $80 million on an extensive renovation to transform the facility into a state-of-the-art arena. Major elements of the construction included a significantly expanded lobby and concourse, an enclosed pedestrian bridge from the Convention Center, a new LCD video scoreboard, new restaurant, 20 luxury suites, 4 new bthrooms, and all new seats with cupholders in the arena bowl. Behind the scenes improvements included a new HVAC system, ice chiller, and a first of its kind fire suppression system. These renovations were completed in 2008. In 2010, the arena hosted first and second-round games of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament for the first time since 1996.