The Carlson Center is a 6443-seat multi-purpose arena in Fairbanks, Alaska. It is home to the University of Alaska Nanooks ice hockey team of the CCHA, the Fairbanks Grizzlies of the Indoor Football League, and is also the site used for the university's commencement exercises as well as graduation ceremonies for Lathrop, West Valley, and North Pole high schools. The building also served as the site for the Top Of The World preseason college basketball tournament until its demise in 2007. Opening in 1990, the venue is named after John A. Carlson (1920-1988), who served as Fairbanks North Star Borough mayor from 1968 to 1982.