Hirsch Memorial Coliseum is 10,000-seat multi-purpose

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 ...

in Shreveport, Louisiana, designed by the late local architect Edward F. Neild Jr. (1908–1958) who, with his father in 1937, had designed the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum in Shreveport. The coliseum is named after William Rex Hirsch, a former fair president, manager and treasurer. The building completed construction in 1954, the year of Hirsch's death, and initially was planned to have the name ''The Youth Building''. The coliseum has been used for a variety of events through the years, with dirt being brought in and placed on the floor for rodeos and tractor pulls. It is located adjacent to the Independence Stadium and across from

Fair Park High School Fair Park Middle School is a former high school located at 3222 Greenwood Road in Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S. The school was originally named Fair Park High School when it opened in 1928, and it was the second high school in the city. C.E. Byrd Hi ...

in Shreveport. Hirsch coliseum is very similar in design, though smaller in size to the

John M. Parker Agricultural Coliseum The John M. Parker Agricultural Coliseum or John M. Parker Agricultural Center is a 6,756-seat multi-purpose arena in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It hosts local sporting events, horse shows, livestock shows and concerts. History Constructed by the W ...

(completed in 1937 and designed by Neild, Sr), owned and operated by the Louisiana State University Campus in Baton Rouge. However, the Parker coliseum has a dirt floor arena and is mainly used for livestock-type events, with portable hard floors laid on top of the dirt for other types of events such as basketball games or concerts.

Sports tenants

The Hirsch was home to the professional

Shreveport Mudbugs The Shreveport Mudbugs are a Tier II junior ice hockey team based in Shreveport, Louisiana, as a member of the North American Hockey League. The new Mudbugs replaced a former professional team that played in the area from 1997 to 2011 known as ...

minor league

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

team, from 1997, until they moved to the CenturyTel Center, in

Bossier City Bossier City ( ) is a city in Bossier Parish in the northwestern region of the U.S. state of Louisiana in the United States. It is the second most populous city in the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan statistical area. In 2020, it had a ...

in 2000. It hosted the 1981

Atlantic Sun Conference The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Div ...

men's basketball tournament and has hosted the

Southland Conference The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it ...

men's basketball tournament six times. It was also home to the

Shreveport-Bossier Bombers The Shreveport-Bossier Bombers were an indoor football team of the Indoor Professional Football League (IPFL) in 2000. The Bombers, based out of Shreveport, LA/ Bossier City, LA, were one of four IPFL expansion teams for that season. They playe ...

indoor football team. The Coliseum has hosted many professional wrestling events over the years including

NWA NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgenr ...

WCW World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nationa ...

and

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...

events. From 2013 to 2015, the Hirsch was home to a professional basketball franchise through the American Basketball Association called the

Shreveport-Bossier Mavericks The Shreveport Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Shreveport, Louisiana that plays in The Basketball League (TBL). History Rio Grande Valley/Southeast Texas (2006-2011) Originally known as the Rio Grande Valley Silverados, the ...

. In 2016, a new

junior hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

team returned as the

in the North American Hockey League and play at George's Pond at Hirsch Memorial Coliseum.

Music events

It also has a long history as a concert venue. Most notably, Hirsch Memorial Coliseum is where the words "Elvis has left the building!" were first uttered in 1957. Not only that, but on June 7, 1975

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

himself performed an afternoon and evening show at the coliseum. His next and final appearance at the coliseum would be on July 1, 1976, 13 months before his death on August 16 of the following year. This is also the venue in which Eddie Van Halen of

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 ...

first met his future wife Valeri Bertinelli after a show in August 1980 Rush was scheduled to perform during their Roll the Bones Tour on February 22, 1992, with Primus as their opening act, but the show was cancelled due to

Geddy Lee Geddy Lee (born Gary Lee Weinrib; July 29, 1953) is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush. Lee joined the band in September 1968, at the re ...

contracting laryngitis. In January 1995, it was the scene of a small scale riot, when a Pantera concert was cancelled at the last minute, because of a city ordinance that had just gone into effect, requiring seating on the floor, which the band felt created an unsafe situation for the fans and themselves. It hosted the

Miss USA 2018 Miss USA 2018 was the 67th Miss USA pageant. It was held on May 21, 2018 at the Hirsch Memorial Coliseum in Shreveport, Louisiana. Nick Lachey and Vanessa Lachey hosted for the first time, while Carson Kressley and Lu Sierra served as commenta ...

pageant on May 21, 2018.

References

American Basketball Association (2000–present) venues Basketball venues in Louisiana College basketball venues in the United States Continental Basketball Association venues Indoor arenas in Louisiana Indoor ice hockey venues in Louisiana Music venues in Louisiana Sports venues in Shreveport, Louisiana Sports venues completed in 1954 1954 establishments in Louisiana Shreveport Mudbugs Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs {{Louisiana-stadium-stub

Sports tenants

Music events

See also

References