American rock band Kiss played at the Civic Center on Easter Sunday in April 1986, causing local church groups to protest the event. During the show, Kiss blew out half of the windows on the outside west wall of the Civic Center. The sound system they used on this tour was rated at 120 decibels. Before the show, Gene Simmons and Eric Carr of the band walked around the perimeter of the building, trying to hold polite conversations with the church groups. The concert went on as scheduled. Largely due to the church protest controversy, the concert sold only 1,900 tickets.
The Civic Center plays host to various well-attended professional sporting events. On September 9, 2012, K.O. Sports Promotions hosted a boxing card for a capacity crowd at the Civic Center, with the main event featuring former United States Boxing Organization cruiserweight champion Carl Davis (boxer) in an eight-round heavyweight bout against former number one heavyweight contender Bert Cooper.
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