Credit: Courtesy of the Hershey Community Archives
In 1936, Milton Hershey funded the construction of a new sports arena to employ local construction workers and serve as the home for his hockey team, the Hershey B'ars, which had played to overflow crowds during its 1934 championship season. Built with innovative concrete roofing panels, the Hershey Arena seated 7,000 hockey fans and held more than 10,000 for concerts and other special events. When opened in December 1936, it was the largest thin concrete dome ever constructed in North America. Here, on March 2, 1962, Wilt Chamberlain would score 100 points against the New York Knicks, a feat still unsurpassed in the history of professional basketball.
