The Colisée (formerly Androscoggin Bank Colisée, Central Maine Youth Center, Central Maine Civic Center and Lewiston Colisee) is a 4,000 capacity (3,677 seated) multi-purpose arena, in Lewiston, Maine, that opened in 1958. The Colisée was built to replace St. Dominics Regional High School Arena, and initially constructed and operated by the Catholic parish of SS. Peter and Paul. Currently, it is the home of the Maine Nordiques of the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

. The Colisee is also used for concerts, conventions and trade shows. There is 17,000 square feet (1600 m²) of exhibit space. For conventions, the Colisee can accommodate up to 4,800 patrons.

History

The Maine Nordiques of the former professional

were the primary tenant at the Civic Center from 1973 to 1977. The

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

of the National Basketball Association played exhibition games at the Civic Center. In 2003, the Lewiston Maineiacs came to the Central Maine Civic Center. The Central Maine Civic Center was renamed to the Lewiston Colisée (from the French word for colosseum, similar to the Colisée de Québec) to distinguish it from the Cumberland County Civic Center, the Augusta Civic Center, and the

Bangor Civic Center The Bangor Civic Center was a convention center located in Bangor, Maine. It contained of exhibit and meeting space, enough for 9 meetings at the same time. In addition to meetings, it could also host trade shows, wedding receptions, and banquets ...

. In 2007, the Maineiacs won the Presidents Cup, the QMJHL league championship. They remain the only U.S.-based QMJHL team to win the Presidents Cup. The Maineiacs folded at the end of the

2010–11 QMJHL season The 2010–11 QMJHL season was the 42nd season of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The regular season, which consisted of eighteen teams playing 68 games each, began on September 9, 2010 and ended on March 20, 2011. The playoffs feat ...

and the Sherbrooke Phoenix was created in its place. The Federal Hockey League held five home games at the arena in 2011 and 2012. Due to renovations to the Cumberland County Civic Center, the

Portland Pirates The Portland Pirates were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena was the Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks fr ...

played at the Colisee during the

2012–13 AHL season The 2012–13 AHL season was the 77th season of the American Hockey League. The regular season began on October 12, 2012 and ended on April 21, 2013. The 2013 Calder Cup playoffs followed the conclusion of the regular season. The Calder Cup was ...

for all but one of their home games. On December 16, 2014, it was announced the

New Hampshire Fighting Spirit The Lewiston/Auburn Nordiques were a Tier III Junior "A" ice hockey team from Lewiston, Maine. The team was a member of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) since 2016 and played home games at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée since 2015. The ...

from the

North American 3 Eastern Hockey League North American 3 Eastern Hockey League (NA3EHL) was a USA Hockey-sanctioned Junior ice hockey#United States, Tier III junior ice hockey league. The league had teams in the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. In 2016, the le ...

, a Tier III junior league, would relocate to Lewiston and play home games at the Colisee as the

L/A Fighting Spirit The Lewiston/Auburn Nordiques were a Tier III Junior "A" ice hockey team from Lewiston, Maine. The team was a member of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) since 2016 and played home games at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée since 2015. The ...

(with the L/A standing for Lewiston-

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

) beginning with the 2015–16 season. In 2016, the Fighting Spirit joined the North American 3 Hockey League. Firland Management, which had acquired the Colisee from the City of Lewiston in 2008, bought the Fighting Spirit in 2017 and rebranded the team as the Lewiston/Auburn Nordiques after the former professional team. In 2019, Cain, Darryl Antonacci, and Nolan Howe were granted an expansion team in the Tier II junior

and named the team the Maine Nordiques. In March 2020, Antonacci agreed to purchase the Colisée and the Tier III Nordiques from Cain. Antonacci folded the Tier III junior team and replaced it with Tier I youth teams. The naming rights to the venue were sold to Androscoggin Bank in 2006. In 2020, the rights expired, and the bank's name was removed from the venue the following year.

Other uses

Ali vs. Liston fight

On May 25, 1965, the Youth Center was the venue for the

WBC WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...

heavyweight boxing championship rematch between 34-year old former champ

Sonny Liston Charles L. "Sonny" Liston ( 1930 – December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. A dominant contender of his era, he became the world heavyweight champion in 1962 after knocking out Floyd Patterson i ...

and 23-year-old reigning champion

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

. It was at this fight that '' Sports Illustrated'' photographer

Neil Leifer Neil Leifer (born December 28, 1942) is an American sports photographer and filmmaker known mainly for his work in the Time Inc. family of magazines. Early life and education Neil Leifer grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York ...

took what '' Time'' magazine has called the "perhaps the greatest sports photo of the century."

Concerts

On March 19, 1977,

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

and the E Street Band played at the venue. Bob Dylan performed at the venue on November 13, 2000, May 17, 2008 and on April 10, 2013.

Mixed martial arts

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

held their first event in Maine on March 21, 2013,

Bellator 93 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

Ring of Honor/New Japan Pro-Wrestling

On November 7, 2018,

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...

made its Maine debut at the Coliseé. As a co-promoted

Global Wars Global Wars is a professional wrestling event held annually since 2012 by the American Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion. Originally named Border Wars, the event was renamed Global Wars in 2014 after ROH announced a partnership with the Japanese New ...

show with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, it also marked the Japanese promotion's first event in New England.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Androscoggin Bank Colisee 1958 establishments in Maine Buildings and structures in Lewiston, Maine Convention centers in Maine Indoor ice hockey venues in Maine Quebec Major Junior Hockey League arenas Indoor arenas in Maine Sports in Lewiston, Maine Sports venues completed in 1958 Tourist attractions in Lewiston, Maine