Coliseum at Richfield
Encyclopedia
The Coliseum at Richfield (also known as Richfield Coliseum) was an arena
located in Richfield Township
in Summit County
, Ohio
, roughly halfway between Cleveland
and Akron
. It was home to the NBA
's Cleveland Cavaliers
, WHA
's Cleveland Crusaders
, NHL
's Cleveland Barons
, MISL
's Cleveland Force
, MISL, & NPSL
's Cleveland Crunch
, the IHL's Cleveland Lumberjacks
, and the AFL's Cleveland Thunderbolts
. It hosted the 1981 NBA All-Star Game
and WWF's
Survivor Series 1987
, Survivor Series 1988
, and Survivor Series 1992
.
It also hosted concerts, with its first event being a concert by Frank Sinatra
and the last being a concert by Roger Daltrey
in 1994, which was also the last official event at the arena. The first rock concert at the Richfield Coliseum was Led Zeppelin
in January 1975. It was also the site of the March 24,1975 boxing match between Muhammad Ali
and Chuck Wepner
which in part inspired the movie Rocky
.
, which had 12,500+ boxing capacity, 10,000+ otherwise. The new arena seated about 20,000 for basketball and 18,500 for hockey, and was one of the first indoor arenas to contain luxury box
es. Nick Mileti
was the driving force behind the Coliseum's construction, believing that its location in northern Summit County south of Cleveland near the confluence of the Ohio Turnpike
and Interstates 77
and 271
was ideally suited given the growth of urban sprawl
. The Coliseum was built in Richfield to draw fans from both of Northeast Ohio's major cities, as nearly 5 million Ohioans lived within less than an hour's drive (in good weather) from the Coliseum. While the arena's location hindered attendance somewhat, nevertheless, the Cavaliers' average attendance was over 18,000 per game each of the last 2 seasons at the Coliseum.
for both levels, which became crowded during games at which the attendance was anywhere close to capacity. The Coliseum's real drawback was that the luxury suites, which generate much revenue, were at the uppermost level and as such, were the worst seats in the house. Once plans for Gund Arena (now Quicken Loans Arena
) in downtown Cleveland
were announced in 1991, where the suites were much closer to the playing area, the Coliseum became economically obsolete.
Another hindrance to attendance was the arena's location at the intersection of Interstate 271 and Ohio State Route 303, which was a rural, two-lane highway outside of Richfield. Traffic became an issue with every Coliseum event, especially with lake-effect snow from Lake Erie
providing another obstacle to drivers during the winter months. Many times, fans would be late to sold-out events due to traffic jams created up and down Interstate 271, which was already a very heavily travelled Interstate during Cleveland's rush hours from 3-7:00 pm. As there was really only one true entrance to the arena (directly at the 271/303 interchange) traffic would back up for several miles in all directions for hours whenever an event was even close to a sell out.
. Two years later it was noted that the site appeared to have no trace of the former building, although a widened section of Route 303 and turn lanes to the former site reveal its location.
The site is now a grassy meadow and has become an important area for wildlife. Birds such as the Eastern Meadowlark, Bobolink, and Savannah Sparrow now inhabit the area. Grasshopper Sparrow and Henslow's Sparrow have also been seen on occasion. This has caused the site to become popular with local birders. There are no trails and there are currently no plans for the park to put any in. Other birds that are frequently seen are American Goldfinch, Red-winged blackbird, Turkey Vulture (Buzzard), Red-tailed Hawk, and American Kestrel.
Arena
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...
located in Richfield Township
Richfield Township, Summit County, Ohio
Richfield Township is one of the nine townships of Summit County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 5,424 people in the township, 2,138 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
in Summit County
Summit County, Ohio
Summit County is an urban county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 542,899. In the 2010 Census the population was 541,781. Its county seat is Akron...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, roughly halfway between Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
and Akron
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
. It was home to the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
's Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...
, 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...
's Cleveland Crusaders
Cleveland Crusaders
The Cleveland Crusaders were a professional ice hockey team from Cleveland, Ohio. The Crusaders were founded by Nick Mileti, and played in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1976...
, NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
's Cleveland Barons
Cleveland Barons (NHL)
The Cleveland Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League from 1976–78. They were a relocation of the California Golden Seals franchise, which had played in Oakland since 1967...
, 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...
's Cleveland Force
Cleveland Force
The Cleveland Force has been the name of two indoor soccer teams based in the Richfield, Ohio area:*Cleveland Force , of the original MISL*Cleveland Force , known as the Crunch from 1989 to 2002...
, MISL, & NPSL
Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008)
The Major Indoor Soccer League was the top professional indoor soccer league in the USA. The league was a member of both the United States Soccer Federation and FIFA. The MISL had replaced the NPSL which folded in 2001. According to MISL.net, the league has ceased operations as of May 31, 2008...
's Cleveland Crunch
Cleveland Force
The Cleveland Force has been the name of two indoor soccer teams based in the Richfield, Ohio area:*Cleveland Force , of the original MISL*Cleveland Force , known as the Crunch from 1989 to 2002...
, the IHL's Cleveland Lumberjacks
Cleveland Lumberjacks
The Cleveland Lumberjacks were an International Hockey League team based in Cleveland, Ohio.-Facts:The Cleveland Lumberjacks were an International Hockey League team based in Cleveland, Ohio.-Facts:...
, and the AFL's Cleveland Thunderbolts
Cleveland Thunderbolts
The Cleveland Thunderbolts were a professional American football team in the Arena Football League.-Columbus Thunderbolts:Established as the Columbus Thunderbolts and playing its home games at the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum, the team relocated to Cleveland after a winless single season in the Arena...
. It hosted the 1981 NBA All-Star Game
1981 NBA All-Star Game
1981 NBA All-Star Game, this was the 31st NBA All-Star Game. Date: February 1, 1981, at Coliseum at Richfield; Coaches: Billy Cunningham, Philadelphia 76ers and John MacLeod, Phoenix Suns ; MVP: Nate Archibald, Boston .Team replacements: Eastern Conference— ?? for Atlanta forward Dan Roundfield;...
and WWF's
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
Survivor Series 1987
Survivor Series (1987)
Survivor Series was the first Survivor Series pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1987 and was held at the Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio....
, Survivor Series 1988
Survivor Series (1988)
Survivor Series was the second annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation...
, and Survivor Series 1992
Survivor Series (1992)
Survivor Series was the sixth annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on November 25, 1992 at the Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio...
.
It also hosted concerts, with its first event being a concert by Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
and the last being a concert by Roger Daltrey
Roger Daltrey
Roger Harry Daltrey, CBE , is an English singer and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock band The Who. He has maintained a musical career as a solo artist and has also worked in the film industry, acting in a large number of films, theatre and television roles and also...
in 1994, which was also the last official event at the arena. The first rock concert at the Richfield Coliseum was Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
in January 1975. It was also the site of the March 24,1975 boxing match between Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
and Chuck Wepner
Chuck Wepner
Charles "Chuck" Wepner is a former heavyweight boxer from Bayonne, New Jersey. As a tough but journeyman boxer he went 15 rounds with world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in a 1975 fight. Wepner is credited as the inspiration for Rocky Balboa. Wepner also appeared in the book Operation Bullpen...
which in part inspired the movie Rocky
Rocky
Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and both written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It tells the rags to riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa, an uneducated but kind-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
.
Opening
The arena, which opened in 1974, replaced the then-decrepit Cleveland ArenaCleveland Arena
Cleveland Arena was an arena in Cleveland, Ohio. It was built and privately financed by local businessman Albert C. Sutphin during the height of the Great Depression in 1937 as a playing site for Sutphin's AHL team, the Cleveland Barons. Later it hosted Sutphin's BAA's Cleveland Rebels and Nick...
, which had 12,500+ boxing capacity, 10,000+ otherwise. The new arena seated about 20,000 for basketball and 18,500 for hockey, and was one of the first indoor arenas to contain luxury box
Luxury box
A Luxury box is a special seating section located within stadiums, arenas and other sporting and entertainment venues. They are typically located in the midsection of a stadium grandstand, usually providing the best views of the event...
es. Nick Mileti
Nick Mileti
Nick James Mileti was, during the 1970s, the owner of the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Crusaders hockey team, the Coliseum at Richfield and radio station "3WE" WWWE AM/1100 ....
was the driving force behind the Coliseum's construction, believing that its location in northern Summit County south of Cleveland near the confluence of the Ohio Turnpike
Ohio Turnpike
The Ohio Turnpike, officially the James W. Shocknessy Ohio Turnpike, is a -long, limited-access toll highway in the U.S. state of Ohio, serving as a primary corridor to Chicago and Pittsburgh...
and Interstates 77
Interstate 77
Interstate 77 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of West Virginia to the rolling farmlands of North Carolina and Ohio. It largely supplants the old U.S...
and 271
Interstate 271
Interstate 271 is an auxiliary interstate highway in the suburbs of Cleveland and Akron in the U.S. state of Ohio. The highway is officially designated the "Cleveland Outerbelt East", but rarely referred to by that name.-Route description:...
was ideally suited given the growth of urban sprawl
Urban sprawl
Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a...
. The Coliseum was built in Richfield to draw fans from both of Northeast Ohio's major cities, as nearly 5 million Ohioans lived within less than an hour's drive (in good weather) from the Coliseum. While the arena's location hindered attendance somewhat, nevertheless, the Cavaliers' average attendance was over 18,000 per game each of the last 2 seasons at the Coliseum.
Attendance hindrances
Though a large arena at the time of construction, it had only one concourseConcourse
A concourse is a place where pathways or roads meet, such as in a hotel, a convention center, a railway station, an airport terminal, a hall, or other space.-Examples:Examples of concourses include:* Meeting halls* Universities* Railway stations...
for both levels, which became crowded during games at which the attendance was anywhere close to capacity. The Coliseum's real drawback was that the luxury suites, which generate much revenue, were at the uppermost level and as such, were the worst seats in the house. Once plans for Gund Arena (now Quicken Loans Arena
Quicken Loans Arena
Quicken Loans Arena , is a multi-purpose arena, in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States....
) in downtown Cleveland
Downtown Cleveland
Downtown Cleveland is the central business district of the City of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. Reinvestment in the area in the mid-1990s spurred a rebirth that continues to this day, with over $2 billion in residential and commercial developments slated for the area over the next few years...
were announced in 1991, where the suites were much closer to the playing area, the Coliseum became economically obsolete.
Another hindrance to attendance was the arena's location at the intersection of Interstate 271 and Ohio State Route 303, which was a rural, two-lane highway outside of Richfield. Traffic became an issue with every Coliseum event, especially with lake-effect snow from Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
providing another obstacle to drivers during the winter months. Many times, fans would be late to sold-out events due to traffic jams created up and down Interstate 271, which was already a very heavily travelled Interstate during Cleveland's rush hours from 3-7:00 pm. As there was really only one true entrance to the arena (directly at the 271/303 interchange) traffic would back up for several miles in all directions for hours whenever an event was even close to a sell out.
Demolition and environmental remediation
After lying vacant for five years, the arena was torn down in 1999, between March 30 and May 21, and the arena and surrounding parking areas were allowed to be returned to woodland as part of the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area, now Cuyahoga Valley National ParkCuyahoga Valley National Park
Cuyahoga Valley National Park preserves and reclaims the rural landscape along the Cuyahoga River between Akron and Cleveland in Northeast Ohio. The park is the only national park in Ohio.Cuyahoga means "crooked river" in Mohawk....
. Two years later it was noted that the site appeared to have no trace of the former building, although a widened section of Route 303 and turn lanes to the former site reveal its location.
The site is now a grassy meadow and has become an important area for wildlife. Birds such as the Eastern Meadowlark, Bobolink, and Savannah Sparrow now inhabit the area. Grasshopper Sparrow and Henslow's Sparrow have also been seen on occasion. This has caused the site to become popular with local birders. There are no trails and there are currently no plans for the park to put any in. Other birds that are frequently seen are American Goldfinch, Red-winged blackbird, Turkey Vulture (Buzzard), Red-tailed Hawk, and American Kestrel.