Roberto Clemente Coliseum (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: ''Coliseo Roberto Clemente'') is a sports and concert

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

located in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

. It was, for many years, Puerto Rico's largest indoor event facility, and remains one of the largest.

General information

The Coliseum is named after

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

hall of famer

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his early death, he was pos ...

, who died in a plane crash off

Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport ( es, link=no, Aeropuerto Internacional Luis Muñoz Marín) is a joint civil-military international airport located in suburban Carolina, Puerto Rico, southeast of San Juan. It is named for Luis Muño ...

in Carolina in 1972, while flying with relief articles to be given to victims of the Nicaragua earthquake. Construction of the facility began in the early 1970s, it was finished in January 1973, and inaugurated in February of that year by the

Fania All-Stars The Fania All-Stars is a musical group formed in 1968 as a showcase for the musicians on Fania Records, the leading salsa music record label of the time. History Beginnings In 1964, Fania Records was founded in New York City by Jerry Masucci, ...

. The coliseum has been host to a variety of events, including world championship

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, business expos, circus, concerts and other things. Many Puerto Rican and international performers have been at the arena, among others. Concerts that have been held there include: * Saga/FM: Silent Knight/City Of Fear Tour **January 10, 1981 (The photo that appears on the Worlds Apart Album was shot there) * Santana: Zebop! Tour - April 18, 1981 and April 19, 1981 * Judas Priest: Point Of Entry Tour - December 15, 1981 * Quiet Riot: Metal Health Tour - December 3, 1983 * Chicago - August 17, 1984 * José José - May 10, 1985 * Bon Jovi/Ratt: The World Infestation Tour '85 - December 13, 1985 * W.A.S.P./Kiss: Asylum Tour - January 12, 1986 * John Butcher Axis/Night Ranger: Seven Wishes Tour - February 8, 1986 * Hall & Oates - May 16, 1986 * Loverboy/Dokken: Under Lock And Key Tour - July 26, 1986 * Rough Cutt/Dio: Sacred Heart Tour - October 11, 1986 * Cyndi Lauper: True Colors Tour - January 3, 1987 * 38 Special/Kansas: Drastic Measures Tour - January 31, 1987 * Duran Duran: Strange Behavior Tour - August 7/8, 1987 * Def Leppard: Hysteria Tour - January 19, 1988 * Triumph: A Sport Of Kings Tour - March 25, 1988 * Saga - April 22, 1988 * R.E.O. Speedwagon/Information Society - January 7, 1989 * Jetboy/Stryper: Against The Law Tour - October 20, 1990 *

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

/Extreme: Pornograffitti Tour - January 31, 1992 * Chicago - February 29, 1992 *

Gloria Estefan Gloria Estefan (; born Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García; born 1 September 1957) is a Cuban-American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is a seven-time Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been ...

: Into The Light World Tour - March 14–15, 1992 * Sting: Ten Summoner's Tales Tour - March 9, 1993 * INXS: Full Moon, Dirty Hearts Tour - March 23, 1994 *

: Evolution World Tour - January 17–18, 1997 * Boston: Livin' For You Tour - September 6, 1997 *

El Reencuentro El Reencuentro was the name that six ex-members of musical group Menudo used for their comeback project remembering Menudo's golden era. Ricky Melendez, Rene Farrait, Miguel Cancel, Johnny Lozada, Ray Reyes, and Charlie Masso re-joined to c ...

- 1998 *

Maná Maná () is a Mexican pop rock band. The band is considered one of the best-selling Latin music artists and the most successful Latin American band of all time with over 40 million records sold worldwide. The group's current lineup consists o ...

: Sueños Líquidos Tour - April 10, 1998 * Simone: Brazil O Show - August, 1998 * Mötley Crüe: Greatest Hits Tour - December 12, 1998 * Puya/Kiss: Psycho Circus Tour - April 14, 1999 * Alanis Morissette: Junkie Tour - December 18, 1999 *

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

: Christina Aguilera in Concert - January 14, 2001 * Sting: Brand New Day Tour - February 3, 2001 *

Luis Fonsi Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero (born April 15, 1978), known by his stage name Luis Fonsi (), is a Puerto Rican singer. He is known for multiple songs, one of them being "Despacito" featuring rapper Daddy Yankee. Fonsi received his first ...

: Eterno Tour - February 10/11, 2001 *

Laura Pausini Laura Pausini (; born 16 May 1974) is an Italian singer. She rose to fame in 1993, winning the newcomer artists' section of the 43rd Sanremo Music Festival with her debut single "La solitudine", which became an Italian standard and an internat ...

: 2001–2002 World Tour - October 21, 2001 *

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

: Let's Get Loud Concert - November 2001 * The Cranberries: Wake Up And Smell The Coffee Tour - June 9, 2002 * Firehouse/R.E.O. Speedwagon/Journey - May 8, 2004 * Boston - August 27, 2004 * Stryper - August 19, 2005 * Judas Priest: Angel Of Retribution - September 16, 2005 * Incubus - December 5, 2005 * Firehouse/Slaughter/Poison:20 Years Of Tour - August 31, 2006 * Metal Church/Queensryche - August 16, 2008 * R.E.O. Speedwagon/Kansas - October 18, 2008 * Puya/Sebastian Bach/Guns N'Roses: Chinese Democracy World Tour - April 15, 2010 * Air Supply: 2012 * Soulfly/Fear Factory: The World Industrialist Tour - August 28, 2012 * Stryper/Tesla/Bret Michaels: Get Your Rocks On Tour - October 6, 2012

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

were scheduled to perform during their

III Tour The III Tour was a concert tour by American hard rock band Van Halen, in support of their eleventh studio album, ''Van Halen III''. It is the only concert tour to feature vocalist Gary Cherone. Background Despite positive critical reviews, the t ...

on September 20 and December 11, 1998, but the shows were cancelled. It has been the home of three different BSN professional

teams and the BSN has also used it as a neutral site for their most important games, including game 7 of the championship finals, several times. The Coliseum has also been used by religious leaders for conferences and religious services. Most of the world championship boxing bouts fought in Puerto Rico during the late 1970s and early 1980s were fought at the Roberto Clemente coliseum, including

Roberto Durán Roberto Durán Samaniego (born June 16, 1951) is a Panamanian former professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 2001. He held world championships in four weight classes: lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight and middleweight, as wel ...

's world title defense versus Mexican

Leoncio Ortiz Leoncio or Leôncio is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Leoncio Afonso, (born 1916), Spanish academic in the geography, history and toponymics of the Canary Islands * Ricardo Leoncio Elías Arias (1874–1951), Peruvian soldier ...

Wilfredo Gómez Wilfredo Gómez Riveraknockout win against Carlos Zarate, many of

Samuel Serrano Samuel Serrano (born November 17, 1952) is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 1969 to 1984 and made a two-fight comeback from 1996 to 1997. He was a two-time super featherweight world champion, having held the WBA title ...

's title defenses, and the fight where

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 ...

defended his title against

Jean Pierre Coopman Jean-Pierre Coopman (born 11 July 1946) is a retired Belgian boxer who is best known for his title fight against Muhammad Ali in 1976 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which Ali won by KO in round 5. Early life Jean-Pierre Coopman was born on 11 J ...

, the only time a world Heavyweight championship fight has been held in Puerto Rico.

George Foreman George Edward Foreman (born January 10, 1949) is an American former professional boxer, entrepreneur, minister and author. In boxing, he was nicknamed "Big George" and competed between 1967 and 1997. He is a two-time world heavyweight champio ...

had his last fight (and experienced the vision that led him to become a

born-again Christian Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sepa ...

in one of its dressing rooms) before announcing his first retirement there, and

Julio César Chávez Julio César Chávez González (; born July 12, 1962), also known as Julio César Chávez Sr., is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2005. A multiple-time world champion in three weight divisions, Chávez was liste ...

had one of his first important fights there, on the undercard of

Edwin Rosario Edwin "Chapo" Rosario Rivera (; March 15, 1963 – December 1, 1997) was a Puerto Rican professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 1997. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC lightweight title from 1983 to 1984, ...

's world Lightweight championship win against

José Luis Ramírez José Luis Ramírez (born December 3, 1958) is a Mexican former professional boxer who was a two-time World Lightweight Champion. Career A native of Huatabampo, Sonora and a resident of Culiacán, Ramírez made his professional debut on March ...

. Because of all the boxing action going on during that era, many observers call the period from the middle 1970s to the middle 1980s as the ''golden age of boxing in Puerto Rico''. The arena also hosted the final phase of the

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

World Basketball championship The FIBA Basketball World Cup, also known as the FIBA World Cup of Basketball or simply the FIBA World Cup, between 1950 and 2010 known as the FIBA World Championship, is an international basketball competition contested by the senior men's nat ...

NBA.com The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

Puerto Rico, sede del Pre-Olímpico Américas 2003
9 December 2002 The Coliseum has also been the place of large political rallies, and Puerto Rico's ''electoral commission'' uses its facilities to count votes after each election, and also hosted

Miss Universe 2002 Miss Universe 2002, the 51st Miss Universe pageant, was held on May 29, 2002, at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 75 delegates competed in this year. Oxana Fedorova of Russia was crowned by Denise Quiñones of Puerto Rico ...

, won by

Oxana Fedorova Oksana Gennadyevna Borodina (russian: Оксана Геннадьевна Бородина, Oksana Gennad'yevna Borodina; née Fedorova, russian: Фёдорова, Fyodorova; born 17 December 1977), known professionally as Oxana Fedorova, is a ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. The Van Halen concert was cancelled due to a hurricane. Some days later the band sent a cargo plane with care packages.

Events

Basketball

References

External links

{{Authority control Sports venues in San Juan, Puerto Rico Indoor arenas in Puerto Rico Basketball venues in Puerto Rico Boxing venues in Puerto Rico Sports venues completed in 1973 1973 establishments in Puerto Rico Roberto Clemente

General information

Events

Basketball

See also

References

External links