The Coliseum Arena or Coliseum Auditorium was an arena at 401 North Roman Street in the
Tulane/Gravier neighborhood of
.
It was located at the corner of N. Roman St. and Conti St.
Venue
In early 1921, John Dillon, Frankie Edwards and Al Buja formed a boxing syndicate, Coliseum Incorporated, to develop an arena.
On July 21, 1922, the 8,000-seat arena with capacity for 8,500 opened.
The arena was modeled after the
Milwaukee Auditorium
Miller High Life Theatre (previously Milwaukee Theatre and originally Milwaukee Auditorium) is a theatre located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The building was extensively renovated between 2001 and 2003, at which point its name changed to the Milwauk ...
and
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
with unobstructed views.
The total costs of the four-story steel-trussed white brick-sheathed building exceeded $100,000.
Events
Boxing
The first event at the arena was a boxing match between local fighter Martin Burke and Charlie Weinert.
The arena held many boxing matches including fights featuring
Jack Dempsey,
Gene Tunney,
Joe Brown,
Joe Louis
Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He rei ...
,
Sugar Ray Robinson,
Willie Pastrano
Wilfred Raleigh Pastrano (November 27, 1935 – December 6, 1997) was an American former professional boxer who competed from 1951 to 1965. He held the undisputed WBA, WBC, and ''The Ring'' light heavyweight titles between 1963 and 1965.
Earl ...
and
Ralph Dupas.
The final boxing match at the arena was held on December 14, 1959.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling matches were held at the arena.
Professional wrestler
Gorgeous George appeared at the arena almost a dozen times in the early 1950s.
Other events
The Coliseum also hosted college and high school sports events, music performances and public lectures.
Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at the arena in 1957.
Arena closing
The Coliseum Arena closed in 1960.
References
{{Reflist
Boxing venues in New Orleans
Defunct boxing venues in the United States
Defunct sports venues in New Orleans
Demolished sports venues in Louisiana
Sports venues completed in 1922
1922 establishments in Louisiana
1960 disestablishments in Louisiana