Casey Wells spent decades witnessing athletic events in Erie. Which one was the loudest?

Good luck getting Casey Wells to pick only one athletic event as the greatest he saw over four decades with the Erie County Convention Center Authority.

Wells began his career with that organization, which was rebranded Erie Events, in 1979. The Penn State University graduate retired as its executive director in January 2023.

Throughout that lengthy span, Wells witnessed some of the all-time competition ever held at the former Erie County Fieldhouse or the current Erie Insurance Arena.

Notable was the Feb. 7, 1980, exhibition hockey game between the Erie Blades and the Soviet Union team at the fieldhouse.

Yes, the same Soviet Union team that two weeks later lost to the United States in the “Miracle on Ice” game during the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York.

There also was the April 6, 1996, stepladder final for the PBA Tour’s Flagship Open. That was held at Erie Insurance Arena, when it was known as Tullio Arena.

More than 4,500 raucous fans saw hometown favorite Bob Learn Jr. not only win the event but with what’s considered one of the best one-day performance in tour history.

Learn opened with the 10th 300 game broadcast live on national television. He averaged 282 over four games en route to the third of his five PBA titles.

Wells watched various basketball games at the varsity, college and professional level from the arena’s floor. He also was a reason Erie hosted the NCAA Division I Women’s Frozen Four in 2011 and 2021.

However, none of those events rated as the loudest crowd Wells ever heard while on the job. There was little pause before he stated the most ear-splitting noise he experienced for an arena event was on May 10, 2002.

That night, Wells was among more than 5,500 spectators who watched the Erie Otters, on an overtime goal by Sean Courtney, beat the Barrie Colts and clinch the first of the franchise’s two Ontario Hockey League championships.

“When that goal went in,” Wells said, “it was louder than any concert there. The emotion and the instant screaming from that goal, I’ll never forget how deafening that was.”

Decorum will prevent such a decibel level from within the Zem Zem Shrine Club on June 26.

There will be some level of enthusiastic clapping and cheering, though, when Wells is formally enshrined into the Metropolitan Erie chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. He’s one of nine people who comprise its 2024 class.

“I couldn’t be more pleased or honored to be part of this,” Wells said. “I felt so fortunate I had a job where I got to help people enjoy themselves. It was fun to work when everyone else was at play.”

Civilian mode

Wells sounded like many of the athletes he watched while discussing his impending induction. He thanked others for making his job easier, if not easy.

Hosting athletic events at Erie Insurance Arena, baseball at UPMC Park or boxing/MMA cards at the Bayfront Convention Center, requires teamwork. Lots of teamwork.

“Fortunately, I had a great staff that did all the heavy lifting. Particularly at the arena, where we might have a basketball game one night, a hockey game the next night, a concert the next night and (indoor) football the next night," Wells said. "There was coordination needed, and I couldn’t have done that without a lot of wonderful people and a very supportive board of directors that I was lucky enough to work for and with for many decades.”

As satisfying as it was, Wells said he accomplished all he wanted to at the time of his 2022 retirement announcement. His last act was assisting with the transition to his successor, Gus Pine, who was promoted from his role as the convention center’s general manager.

“It’s absolutely wonderful now that I can sit with the wife (Jill) at an event, enjoy a beer or two and not have to worry about the Zamboni not starting or the ice melting,” Wells said. “I’m still concerned about the operations which I was a part of at one point, but I’m glad to be done.”

“It’s fun being a civilian.”

Contact Mike Copper atmcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNcopper.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Metro Erie Sports Hall of Fame: Casey Wells among 9 to be inducted