INTRUST Bank Arena

Submitted By: Kimberly Lund

Watching the Shockers play at INTRUST Bank Arena? Simply awesome. My family loves the arena and I had a feeling that playing in such a large venue would give the Shockers an extra dose of the magic that had them undefeated this season.

There’s something about an arena… the lights go down, a voice introduces the starting players for the home team… there’s an energy that flows through the crowd. Sitting next to the student section, we were able to watch the enthusiasm of the pep band as they worked the crowd into a frenzy and see the antics of the students as our opponents were introduced and as one, the student section turned their backs to the floor.

The first half of the game seemed to start a little slow. I’m not a huge sports fan but basketball is one sport I can follow and to me it seemed that the Shockers needed to work on rebounding. On the other hand, their free throw shooting seemed to be very good. Several times the shot clock ran out before the Shockers could even shoot the ball. While the crowd was excited and very much a part of the game, it seemed like everyone was just waiting.

The Shockers were down at the half despite some skilled play. I wasn’t worried. I knew that the Shockers own the second half.

Own it they did. I really felt the momentum swing after one of the Tennessee players was called for a technical foul. We were unsure of the cause of the call — and even after we got home and watched the game on the DVR we continued to be unsure — but to me, that was the turning point in the game.

I wish I could put into words how electric it was inside the arena. During the game, I stood on my tiptoes at times to watch the boys struggling to keep the lead. I clapped and shouted while we were playing defense to make sure the Volunteers knew we were here to play angry. It was amazing to watch the entire arena rise as one as the action got intense.

The team seemed to get more energy as the clock counted down. I didn’t know for sure we’d win until the clock was under 4 minutes and by the time it got down to two minutes, the mood had turned celebratory. The tenth win this season. An undefeated team. The first time ever that the Shockers have started the season 10-0. The biggest crowd ever to watch a Shocker basketball home game was packed into INTRUST Bank Arena, celebrating.

As we walked out of the arena listening to everyone celebrate, I couldn’t help but smile. Wichita State truly is #mystate. So proud to be the parent of a current Shocker and a future Shocker and to be there to watch our team make history.

The group Hillsong took the stage at INTRUST Bank Arena on September 23, 2012 for the Cornerstone Tour. The contemporary Christian artists gave the crowd a taste of their newest album, “Cornerstone.” The Aussies left the crowd inspired and moved.

Submitted by Eric Proffitt

(September 12, 2013) – 1 concert, 1 stage, 1 night, 3 headlining acts!! Country superstar Luke Bryan brought his first major headlining tour to Intrust Bank Arena with opening acts Florida-Georgia Line and Thompson Square for one unforgettable show.

Florida-Georgia Line was technically considered the opening act, but is far from it. Florida-Georgia Line is set to head out on their own headlining tour this fall, just a short time after making their way on the country scene. They released their first single “Cruise” in August of 2012, and in less than a year it had become the best-selling song by a country duo in history. Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard came out with high energy and never slowed down through their set, which also included their second #1 hit “Get Your Shine On” and their current hit “Round Here.”

Two-time vocal duo of the year, Thompson Square, rose up from underneath the stage to dazzle the crowd with “Here’s to Being Here.” They slowed down their set with a touching hit song “Glass” in which they showed video of themselves in a third world country and children holding signs of the words to the song. The song really showed off Shawna Thompson’s powerful voice. The husband and wife duo of Keifer and Shawna Thompson burst onto the scene three years ago with their platinum #1 single “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not,” and had everyone singing along after Keifer said he had a question for the Wichita audience. They finished their almost hour long set with an emotional song “If I Didn’t Have You,” a song written about the loss of Shawna’s father. The duo sounded great, especially so soon after Keifer Thompson was put on emergency vocal rest after surgery on his vocal chords earlier this spring.

At 9:30 the lights went back off and Luke Bryan rose from beneath the stage with only his silhouette visible against the video screen. He came out to the middle of the cross-shaped stage and performed “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye.” He sang hit after hit, while dancing back and forth on the stage and keeping the energy high. The coolest part of the night was when he was singing a few of his songs from his Spring Break LP and decided to lay down on the stage and take about a dozen cell phones and took “selfies” of himself or with the cell phone owners in the picture with him. Definitely a lifetime of memories for those lucky Luke Bryan fans. Halfway through his set, Florida-Georgia Line joined him on stage for a song, and then Thompson Square joined in for a very fun performance by all 3 acts. The 2013 Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year showed how he earned those honors, with his hip shaking and dancing on stage that made the ladies scream each and every time. He mixed in Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” in the middle of “All My Friends Say” and came back for an encore with his #1 singles “I Don’t Want This Night To End” and “Country Girl (Shake It For Me).”

It was a very high energy show from the very beginning to the absolute end. All three acts were tremendous and we were lucky to have this tour come through our city for one non-stop dance fest night.

Dave Matthews Band

The date was August 14, 2010.  The stage was set for Dave Matthews Band’s Summer Tour.  Dave got the arena roaring as the band opened their set with “Minarets.”  Dave and the band went on to play an incredible 19 songs ending the night with “Grey Street.”  This was a night that Wichita will never forget.