Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Encyclopedia
The Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum is a 14,870-seat multi-purpose indoor arena in Phoenix, Arizona
, USA, located on the grounds of the Arizona State Fair
. It is commonly referred to as simply the Coliseum or Vets.
.
The unique saddle-shaped, tension-cable roof, supporting over 1000 precast concrete panels, was considered innovative architectural engineering at the time. The building also contains a series of murals by Phoenix artist Paul Coze
.
The design influenced later arenas' architecture, including the Capital Centre
in Washington, D.C.
and
the Pengrowth Saddledome
in Calgary, Alberta.
In April 1965, the name was officially changed to honor Arizona's war veterans.
There was an early controversy over whether alcohol would be served at the new facility, but legislation was signed in April 1965 by Governor Sam Goddard providing for limited liquor sales.
The Coliseum opened November 3, 1965, with a production of Ice Follies
. The final cost was estimated at $7 million.
On January 21, 1967, The Monkees
performed a concert at AVMC, which was filmed and portions used in episode 4753 The Monkees on Tour. The episode first aired on NBC
, April 24, 1967. The episode also included some footage of the band's stay at Mountain Shadows Resort.
On October 18th, 1993 Nirvana
kicked off their In Utero world tour with a sold-out concert at AVMC.
with its saddle-shaped roof, which sat 13,730 for ice hockey
and 14,870 for basketball
, was the home of the Phoenix Roadrunners
of the Western Hockey League from 1967-'74 and the WHA
from 1974–1977 and of the now-defunct International Hockey League from 1989 to 1996, the Phoenix Suns
of the NBA from 1968–1992, the Arizona Thunder
of the World Indoor Soccer League
from 1998-2000, and the Phoenix Mustangs of the now-defunct WCHL from 1999-2000. The Coliseum was again home to pro sports starting in 2006, when the IBL's
Phoenix Flame played home games there until their move to Grand Canyon University. During the Suns' tenure there, the Coliseum was affectionately referred to as "The Mad House on McDowell (named for McDowell Road, the street in Phoenix where it is located) by both fans and the local media.
The Coliseum currently hosts the Arizona Derby Dames
banked track roller derby
league.
The arena hosted truck pulling sanctioned by USHRA in the late 1980s. It was frequently featured on USHRA's truck pulling series on ESPN
.
The Coliseum also housed the Phoenix Inferno
(also known as the Phoenix Pride) of the MISL
from 1980 to 1984.
The Coliseum also hosted a Saturday Night's Main Event taping on Feb. 15, 1986 (shown on NBC on March 1, 1986) when King Kong Bundy attacked Hulk Hogan at the end of his title defense versus Magnificent Muraco. Hogan suffered (kayfabe) rib injuries, setting up their steel cage main event match at Wrestlemania 2.
It hosted the 1975 NBA All-Star Game and WCW
WrestleWar 1991. The Coliseum was also host to the Phoenix Mustangs
hockey team as part of the West Coast Hockey League
and the Phoenix Eclipse
ABA
basketball team. The ABA will return to the Coliseum, as the Phoenix Phantoms have selected that arena as one of their three venues.
The arena remains open for some events, even though the Suns left in 1992 for the America West Arena (now US Airways Center
). The Arizona State Fair
schedules concerts, comedy shows and other events in the Coliseum during the Fair's annual season (which begins each October). Until recently it hosted portions of Arizona's high school basketball championships, but those have been moved to the newer Jobing.com Arena.
In the fall of 2005, the Coliseum sheltered up to 2,500 evacuees from New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina
. The evacuees were relocated to other housing in time for the opening of the Fair that October.
On January 28, 2008, presidential candidate Barack Obama
held a rally at the Coliseum. Arizona governor Janet Napolitano
and Caroline Kennedy
were both part of the rally.
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, USA, located on the grounds of the Arizona State Fair
Arizona State Fair
The Arizona State Fair is an annual state fair, held at a permanent fairgrounds in Phoenix, Arizona. It was first held in 1884, but has had various interruptions due to cotton crop failure, the Great Depression era, and World War II years. Since 1946, the fair has been held regularly each year...
. It is commonly referred to as simply the Coliseum or Vets.
History
Newspaper reports state that The Arizona State Fair Commission began planning for an "Arizona State Fairgrounds Exposition Center" as early as the fall of 1962. The Commission envisioned an indoor facility which could be used during the State Fair as well as year-round. In 1964, Phoenix architect Leslie Mahoney presented the commission with the final plans, and construction began that summer. Tucson architect Lew Place was also involved in the design, and the structural engineering firm was T. Y. Lin InternationalT. Y. Lin International
T.Y. Lin International , founded in 1954 by Tung-Yen Lin and headquartered in San Francisco, is an infrastructure consulting firm that provides engineering and architectural services to clients throughout the world...
.
The unique saddle-shaped, tension-cable roof, supporting over 1000 precast concrete panels, was considered innovative architectural engineering at the time. The building also contains a series of murals by Phoenix artist Paul Coze
Paul Coze
Paul Coze was a French-American anthropologist, artist, and writer, most notable as a French authority on Native Americans, and for his public art in the 1960s....
.
The design influenced later arenas' architecture, including the Capital Centre
Capital Centre
The Capital Centre was an indoor arena located in Landover, Maryland, unincorporated Prince George's County, Maryland; a suburb of Washington, D.C. Completed in 1973, the arena sat 18,756 for basketball and 18,130 for hockey....
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and
the Pengrowth Saddledome
Pengrowth Saddledome
The Scotiabank Saddledome is the primary indoor arena of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It has a seating capacity of 19,289 people.Located on the Stampede Grounds, on the east end of downtown Calgary, the Saddledome was built in 1983 to replace the Stampede Corral as the home of the Calgary Flames of...
in Calgary, Alberta.
There was an early controversy over whether alcohol would be served at the new facility, but legislation was signed in April 1965 by Governor Sam Goddard providing for limited liquor sales.
The Coliseum opened November 3, 1965, with a production of Ice Follies
Ice Follies
Shipstads & Johnson Ice Follies was a touring ice show featuring elaborate production numbers, similar in concept to Ice Capades. It was founded in 1937 by Eddie Shipstad, Roy Shipstad, and Oscar Johnson, who also skated in the show. In later years, Olympic skaters such as Donald Jackson, Barbara...
. The final cost was estimated at $7 million.
On January 21, 1967, The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
performed a concert at AVMC, which was filmed and portions used in episode 4753 The Monkees on Tour. The episode first aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, April 24, 1967. The episode also included some footage of the band's stay at Mountain Shadows Resort.
On October 18th, 1993 Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
kicked off their In Utero world tour with a sold-out concert at AVMC.
Tenants
This distinctive arenaArena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
with its saddle-shaped roof, which sat 13,730 for ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
and 14,870 for basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, was the home of the Phoenix Roadrunners
Phoenix Roadrunners (WHA)
The Phoenix Roadrunners were a team in the now defunct World Hockey Association from 1974 to 1977. They played at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Arizona...
of the Western Hockey League from 1967-'74 and the WHA
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
from 1974–1977 and of the now-defunct International Hockey League from 1989 to 1996, the Phoenix Suns
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...
of the NBA from 1968–1992, the Arizona Thunder
Arizona Thunder
The Arizona Thunder was a professional indoor soccer team based in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1997, the team was a member of the Premier Soccer Alliance. In 1998, the alliance, with some additional teams, reconstituted itself as the World Indoor Soccer League . The Thunder continued to play in the...
of the World Indoor Soccer League
World Indoor Soccer League
The World Indoor Soccer League was a United States based indoor soccer league that existed from 1998 to 2001 and consisted of nine teams.-History:...
from 1998-2000, and the Phoenix Mustangs of the now-defunct WCHL from 1999-2000. The Coliseum was again home to pro sports starting in 2006, when the IBL's
International Basketball League (2005-)
The International Basketball League is a professional men's spring basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast, Rocky Mountains, Western Canada, and the Midwest. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States...
Phoenix Flame played home games there until their move to Grand Canyon University. During the Suns' tenure there, the Coliseum was affectionately referred to as "The Mad House on McDowell (named for McDowell Road, the street in Phoenix where it is located) by both fans and the local media.
The Coliseum currently hosts the Arizona Derby Dames
Arizona Derby Dames
Arizona Derby Dames is an all-women's amateur roller derby league based in the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area. It is one of many such leagues across the United States. The league currently plays the banked-track style of roller derby....
banked track roller derby
Roller derby
Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups in which both teams designate a scoring player who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team...
league.
The arena hosted truck pulling sanctioned by USHRA in the late 1980s. It was frequently featured on USHRA's truck pulling series on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.
The Coliseum also housed the Phoenix Inferno
Phoenix Inferno
The Phoenix Inferno was an American indoor soccer team based out of Phoenix, United States, that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1980 to 1983. In 1983 new ownership renamed the team the Phoenix Pride. The Pride folded at the end of the 1983-1984 season...
(also known as the Phoenix Pride) of the MISL
Major Soccer League
The Major Indoor Soccer League, known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League, was an indoor soccer league in the USA from 1978 to 1992. After the folding of the North American Soccer League in 1984, the MISL was the Division I soccer league for the United States...
from 1980 to 1984.
The Coliseum also hosted a Saturday Night's Main Event taping on Feb. 15, 1986 (shown on NBC on March 1, 1986) when King Kong Bundy attacked Hulk Hogan at the end of his title defense versus Magnificent Muraco. Hogan suffered (kayfabe) rib injuries, setting up their steel cage main event match at Wrestlemania 2.
It hosted the 1975 NBA All-Star Game and WCW
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
WrestleWar 1991. The Coliseum was also host to the Phoenix Mustangs
Phoenix Mustangs
The Phoenix Mustangs were a professional minor league ice hockey team in the West Coast Hockey League. The Mustangs played at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum on the grounds of the Arizona State Fair, from the 1997-1998 season through the 2000-2001 season...
hockey team as part of the West Coast Hockey League
West Coast Hockey League
The West Coast Hockey League was a professional minor ice hockey league active in the western United States from 1995 to 2003. The number of teams ranged from six to nine. The teams were located in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Washington...
and the Phoenix Eclipse
Phoenix Eclipse
The Phoenix Eclipse was an American Basketball Association team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The team began play in the fall of 2001 and played in the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix...
ABA
American Basketball Association (21st century)
The American Basketball Association, often abbreviated as ABA, is a semi-professional men's basketball league that was founded in 1999. The current ABA has no affiliation with the original American Basketball Association that merged with the National Basketball Association in 1976...
basketball team. The ABA will return to the Coliseum, as the Phoenix Phantoms have selected that arena as one of their three venues.
The arena remains open for some events, even though the Suns left in 1992 for the America West Arena (now US Airways Center
US Airways Center
US Airways Center is a sports and entertainment arena located in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It opened in 1992, and is the home of the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association, the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena...
). The Arizona State Fair
Arizona State Fair
The Arizona State Fair is an annual state fair, held at a permanent fairgrounds in Phoenix, Arizona. It was first held in 1884, but has had various interruptions due to cotton crop failure, the Great Depression era, and World War II years. Since 1946, the fair has been held regularly each year...
schedules concerts, comedy shows and other events in the Coliseum during the Fair's annual season (which begins each October). Until recently it hosted portions of Arizona's high school basketball championships, but those have been moved to the newer Jobing.com Arena.
In the fall of 2005, the Coliseum sheltered up to 2,500 evacuees from New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. The evacuees were relocated to other housing in time for the opening of the Fair that October.
On January 28, 2008, presidential candidate Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
held a rally at the Coliseum. Arizona governor Janet Napolitano
Janet Napolitano
Janet Napolitano is the third and current United States Secretary of Homeland Security, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She is the fourth person to hold the position, which was created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the 21st...
and Caroline Kennedy
Caroline Kennedy
Caroline Bouvier Kennedy is an American author and attorney. She is a member of the influential Kennedy family and the only surviving child of U.S. President John F...
were both part of the rally.