The venue was a joint venture betweenSears Holdings, Ryan Companies, and the Village of Hoffman Estates.[4] The project began in 1998; however, plans were not finalized until 2005.[5] Construction began in July 2005.[6] The venue opened as Sears Centre on October 26, 2006, with performances byDuran Duran[7] andBob Dylan.[8]
In 2011, the Village of Hoffman Estates took over ownership of the arena after Ryan Companies walked away from the arena due to the arena's lack of success.[9] However, since the village took over the arena and hired Global Spectrum to manage it,[10] the arena has shown improvement.[11]
The naming rights to the arena were not affected bySears Holdings declaring bankruptcy in 2018,[12] with the company paying $1.5 million to secure naming rights for an additional 18 months. On June 23, 2020, the Village of Hoffman Estates approved an $11.5 million deal to rename the venue to NOW Arena,[13] with the naming rights belonging to the NOW Health Group, a family-owned natural products manufacturer based inBloomingdale, Illinois.[14] The name change would officially take effect on September 1, 2020.[15]
In 2008 and from 2010 until the present, the Illinois Recreational Cheerleading Association (IRCA) hold their annual state championship at the facility.
The fourth annualTNA Bound for Glory professional wrestlingpay-per-view event on October 12, 2008, which wasTNA's first ever event in the Chicago area.[16]
The arena was also the venue which featured TNA's first everImpact Wrestling outside of Orlando, Florida, on March 14, 2013.
On May 19 and 20, 2011, it played host to the Chicago audition stages in the first season of theFox singer search programThe X Factor.
In 2009 and 2011, it played host toStrikeforce events.
September 12–14, 2014: Played host to theDavis Cup, hosting matches between the United States and Slovakia.
The 2017 and 2018 Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, hosted byNorthwestern University's wrestling program, have been hosted at the Sears Centre.
September 1, 2018:All In, the largest everindependent professional wrestling event, presented byCody Rhodes andThe Young Bucks,[17] featuring wrestlers from various independent wrestling promotions and fromNew Japan Pro-Wrestling, includingKenny Omega andKazuchika Okada. This event was considered the springboard for the creation ofAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) several months later. In commemoration of All In a permanent plaque was installed near the front entrance of the arena.[18]
August 31, 2019: hosted AEW's inauguralAll Out pay-per-view event, at which AEW crowned its firstworld champion.
