Golden Hall is a 3,200-seat indoor arena in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, built in 1964. Golden Hall is located within the San Diego Concourse complex at 1 Civic Center Plz San Diego, CA 92101 and is primarily utilized as a banquet hall today.

History

Music

Built in 1964, Golden Hall has been the host of many concerts, events and athletics. Legendary musical artists

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

, Grateful Dead,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Pink Floyd and

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

have all played at the venue.

San Diego Conquistadors

In the 1973–74 basketball season, Golden Hall was home to the

San Diego Conquistadors The San Diego Conquistadors (known as the San Diego Sails in their final, partial season), were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in San Diego. The "Q's", as they were popularly known, played from 1972 to 1975. As the Sails, the ...

of the American Basketball Association. The Conquistadors, nicknamed the "Qs" were coached by

NBA Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and prese ...

player

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 years and is widely reg ...

during the 1973–74 season. The team had a record of 37–47, finishing 4th in the ABA Western Division and losing to the

Utah Stars The Utah Stars were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround. History prior to moving t ...

in the playoffs. The Qs started as an ABA expansion franchise in 1972–73 and played at

Peterson Gym Peterson Gymnasium (or Peterson Gym) is a 3,668 seat multi-purpose arena in San Diego, California on the campus of San Diego State University (SDSU). The gym opened in 1961 and currently serves as the home of the San Diego State Aztecs women's vo ...

on the campus of

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

during their initial season. Owner Leonard Bloom had hoped to move his new team into the 14,000 seat

San Diego Sports Arena Pechanga Arena (historically known as the San Diego Sports Arena) is an indoor arena built in 1966 and located in the Midway area of San Diego, California. The arena seats 12,000 for indoor football, 12,920 for ice hockey, indoor soccer and ...

, but Bloom had a feud with Arena proprietor Peter Graham, as Graham had attempted to secure the ABA franchise himself. This forced the Qs to play at 3,200-seat Golden Hall. After signing 7-foot-1-inch-tall Chamberlain to serve as a player-coach, the team used the advertising slogan "Tallest Coach in the Smallest Arena." Rookie

Caldwell Jones Caldwell "Pops" Jones (August 4, 1950 – September 21, 2014) was an American professional basketball player. Jones was drafted out of Albany State College by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 14th pick in the 1973 NBA draft. He played three seaso ...

, ABA All-Star

Red Robbins Austin "Red" Robbins (September 30, 1944 – November 18, 2009Jimmy Smith NOLA.com. November 18, 2009. Retrieved on November 18, 2009.) was an American basketball player. Robbins, a 6'8" forward/center from Leesburg, Florida, starred at the ...

, ABA All-Star

Stew Johnson Stewart "Stew" Johnson (born August 19, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'8" (2.03 m) tall forward/center from Murray State University, that was born in New York City, Johnson was selected by the New York Knicks in th ...

and former NBA All-Star Flynn Robinson were notable players on the Q's roster that season. Bloom lured Chamberlain from the

National Basketball Association 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 ...

's Los Angeles Lakers for a reported $600,000 and then attempted to build the team a new arena. Ultimately, Chamberlain was not allowed to be a player for San Diego, as the Lakers sued for violation of contract, leaving Chamberlain as Head Coach only. Then, on November 7, 1973, Bloom's 20,000 seat $200 million arena in Chula Vista narrowly failed in a special referendum. Chamberlain reportedly had refused to campaign for the arena project. "If I have to go there, they can't want it very much," he said. After the arena referendum failed, the ABA directed Bloom to look at moving the team to Los Angeles. However, Bloom and Graham then reached agreement to move the team from Golden Hall. Following the 1973–74 season, the Qs finally moved to the San Diego Sports Arena. Chamberlain retired after his one season as the Qs’coach and did not move with the team. The team struggled and had low attendance at the new arena. Following the 1974–75 season, Bloom sold the team to Frank Goldberg. After changing their name to the San Diego Sails and starting the 1975–76 season with a 3–8 record, the franchise folded.

Other users

On election night Golden Hall serves as election headquarters. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the hall was converted into a homeless shelter.

References

{{Authority control Indoor arenas in California Basketball venues in California San Diego Sails American Basketball Association venues Defunct basketball venues in the United States Sports venues in San Diego San Diego Conquistadors Buildings and structures completed in 1964 1964 establishments in California