The groundbreaking, which took place on the 37-acre parcel between Haven Avenue, Milliken Avenue, Fourth Street and the I-10 Freeway, was attended by top executives at AEG, the arena's operator; Citizens Business Bank, the arena's naming rights partner; and the City of Ontario, the arena's owner.

"This is going to create an atmosphere of entertainment that the Inland Empire has been craving for a long time," says Mayor Paul Leon. "No longer are we going to have to slug it out on the freeways on the way to Los Angeles."

The arena is being marketed as the centerpiece of Piemonte at OntarioCenter. This urban, mixed-use project is currently under construction and will be composed of class A office, specialty retail, a full-service hotel with more than 200 rooms, and other entertainment and urban living components.