The name of this project tells quite a little about one feature of the project. The first part of the name, "aria," is an Italian word meaning the air; and "dome" refers to the roof over the arena. Putting the two together gives the notion of an air dome. The project is precisely that, an arena covered with a pneumatic dome.The project is more than an arena. It has an exhibition space, Allen County High School Hall of Fame, retail space, and a parking structure. The arena has 9,200 permanent seats; basketball will hold approximately 11,200, and hockey games will seat almost 9,900 spectators. The exhibition space and Hall of Fame areas are intended to provide a drawing item to the arena, and to provide a means of interest for people during intermissions, before, and after the main attraction. The retail space is used as a connector with the downtown area of Fort Wayne. The parking structure is designed to hold approximately 700 cars for both employees and visitors of the arena.The location of the arena is the southwest corner of the Central Business District in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The site is easily accessible by car or on foot from the downtown area. Hopefully an arena such as this can bring vitality and life to a struggling but improving city core.This thesis project is not simply the attempt to solve an architectural issue of creating a glorious arena. However, this thesis project is an attempt to make an arena more people oriented, and to create a facility that has an attraction that will draw people into it all day long, not just when a special event occurs. This is a people oriented arena, and not just another pretty building.