Richmond Coliseum
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Richmond Coliseum is a defunct
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 downtown
Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...
, with a capacity of 13,500 that was most often used for various large concerts. The arena opened in 1971 and the region is looking to replace the aging facility with a larger one. The arena was quietly shuttered in February 2019 while new proposed replacements are in development.


History

Until
John Paul Jones Arena John Paul Jones Arena, or JPJ, is a multi-purpose arena owned by the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. Since November 2006, it serves as the home to the Virginia Cavaliers men's and women's basketball teams, as well as for co ...
opened in 2006, the Richmond Coliseum was the largest sports arena in Virginia. The
Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...
Rams men's basketball team played in the arena until the 7,500-seat
Siegel Center The Stuart C. Siegel Center is a multi-purpose facility on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, United States. The facility's main component is the 7,637-(expandable to 8,000) seat E.J. Wade Arena. It also serve ...
opened on the VCU campus in 1999.
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 ...
performed a concert at the coliseum on April 10, 1972, with footage being used in the film ''
Elvis on Tour ''Elvis on Tour'' is a 1972 American concert film starring Elvis Presley during his fifteen-city spring tour earlier that year. It is written, produced, directed by Pierre Adidge and Robert Abel and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Follow ...
'' which documented Presley's spring tour of that year. The Richmond Coliseum was the former part-time home of the
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of the
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. The Squires played there in addition to
Roanoke Civic Center Berglund Center (originally called the Roanoke Civic Center) is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena located in the Williamson Road, Roanoke, Virginia, Williamson Road neighborhood of Roanoke, Virginia. It was built in 1971. It was the former home to ...
,
Norfolk Scope Norfolk Scope is a multi-function complex in Norfolk, Virginia, comprising an 11,000-person arena, a 2,500-person theater known as Chrysler Hall, a exhibition hall and a 600-car parking garage. The arena was designed by Italian architect/engin ...
and
Hampton Coliseum Hampton Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena in Hampton, Virginia. Construction began on May 24, 1968. The venue held its first event on December 1, 1969, with the nearby College of William & Mary playing North Carolina State University in a colle ...
(all within the Commonwealth of
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
) from 1970 until just before the
ABA–NBA merger The ABA-NBA merger was a major pro sports business maneuver in 1976 when the American Basketball Association (ABA) combined with the National Basketball Association (NBA), after multiple attempts over several years. The NBA and ABA had entered ...
in 1976. The Coliseum also hosted the
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men's basketball tournaments in 1973 and 1974. The
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men's basketball tournament was held there in
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. The
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men's (NCAA) collegiate basketball tournament has been contested at the Richmond Coliseum from 1990 to 2013. On March 1, 2006, a deal was signed to keep the tournament in Richmond until 2012. The Coliseum served as the primary home for the
MEAC men's basketball tournament The MEAC men's basketball tournament (popularly known as the MEAC tournament) is the conference championship tournament in basketball for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). The tournament has been held every year since 1972. It is a sing ...
between 1998 and 2005, with some games played at the
Arthur Ashe Athletic Center The Arthur Ashe Athletic Center is a 6,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Richmond, Virginia. It was built in 1982. It hosts local sporting events and concerts. It is named after former tennis player and Richmond resident Arthur Ashe. The Ashe Cent ...
. In 1994, the Coliseum hosted the Women's NCAA Division I Basketball Championship. Charlotte Smith of
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
sank a buzzer-beating three-pointer to defeat
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, 60–59, in the final. The Richmond Coliseum also held the men's Division I NCAA Tournament first and second rounds in
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
and
1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
. In 1997, a transformer fire caused electrical problems and forced events to be canceled or postponed that year. It has been a regular stop for
professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
promotions through the years, including the old
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(
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) Mid-Atlantic territory, and more recently,
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. In recent years, it hosted the fifteenth WWF In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell pay-per-view in 1997, ''
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'' on December 17, 2006, and hosted the televised portion of the 2010 WWE Draft. It held ''
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'' on November 16, 2010. It held ''
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'' on Monday, June 6, 2011, featuring WWE Hall of Famer
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to announce the winner of ''
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''. It also held ''Monday Night Raw'' again May 21, 2012, immediately following Over the Limit in which
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lost a match against
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, with Laurinaitis only winning after The
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intervened. It also held WWE Friday Night SmackDown on December 30, 2012, the final WWE event of the year. It hosted the December 30th, 2013, the July 14, 2014 and the May 18, 2015 editions of Raw. On September 11, 2016, it hosted the return of
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. On May 21, 2018, it hosted WWE Monday Night RAW. It was the last show held at the arena before its closure. The Coliseum has also been a site for the
Professional Bull Riders The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is an international professional bull riding organization based in Pueblo, Colorado, United States. In the U.S., PBR events have been televised on CBS and CBS Sports Network since 2012. In 2013, the ...
. From 1997 to 1999, a
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event known as the
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Memorial was held in the Coliseum; the PBR returned in 2007 to host minor-league tour stops sponsored by former bull rider Greg Potter. On October 22, 2008, it hosted a rally for presidential candidate
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, drawing over 13,000 people. A similar crowd was drawn for the 2009
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convention. The arena closed in February 2019, with the last event having been a
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basketball game on December 29, 2018, but it has not been demolished while several proposed redevelopment projects to replace the coliseum are discussed.


Future replacement

In 2016, the
Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...
passed a bill, signed by governor
Terry McAuliffe Terence Richard McAuliffe (born February 9, 1957) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he was co-chairman of President Bill Clinton's 1996 ...
, authorizing the Richmond Metropolitan Transportation Authority to build a replacement, as a way to get regional cooperation. , no plan has been yet approved.


Layout

The Richmond Coliseum is laid out on six levels. In order from lowest to highest they are the event level, the mezzanine, the lower concourse, the upper concourse, the 300 level and the ring. The event level is where the event floor (and ice rink) was located, as well as all the support rooms for events and the building. Team locker rooms, star dressing rooms, exhibition halls, the Coliseum Club and the kitchens were located on the event level. The Clay Street tunnel, one of the innovative features of the coliseum, is on the event level and allowed vehicles, including tractor trailers and monster trucks, to pull into the coliseum. It is accessed at the intersection of Clay Street and Eighth Street. The tunnel provided storage for shows and parking for coliseum personnel. The mezzanine was where the administrative offices for the coliseum were located. The Leigh Street entrance is on this level. The lower concourse is the access for all lower-level seating and suites. The Fifth Street and Sixth Street entrances are located on this level, as well as exits to the areas above Clay Street and Leigh Street. The upper concourse is the access for all upper-level seating and the 300 level is access to the highest seats on either radius of the coliseum. The ring is where the spotlights are operated and is the access to the catwalk.


See also

* GreenCity Arena


References


External links

*
"We Can't All Age Gracefully"
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