Greensboro Coliseum

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Greensboro Coliseum Complex
Location 1921 West Lee Street, Greensboro, North Carolina 27430
Coordinates 36°3′35″N 79°49′32″W / 36.05972°N 79.82556°W / 36.05972; -79.82556Coordinates: 36°3′35″N 79°49′32″W / 36.05972°N 79.82556°W / 36.05972; -79.82556
Broke ground 1959
Opened 1959
Owner City of Greensboro
Operator City of Greensboro
Capacity Basketball: 23,500
Ice hockey: 21,273
Tenants
UNC Greensboro (SoCon) (2009-)
Greensboro Revolution (NIFL) (2006-2008)
Greensboro Prowlers (af2) (2000–2003)
Greensboro Generals (ECHL) (1999–2004)
Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) (1997–1999)
Carolina Monarchs (AHL) (1995–1997)
Greensboro Monarchs (ECHL) (1989–1995)
1974 NCAA Final Four
Greensboro Generals (EHL / SHL) (1959–1973)
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (ACC) (1959–1989, part-time)

The Greensboro Coliseum complex is an indoor arena in Greensboro, North Carolina. The arena was the home of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League from 1997–1999, and was the long-time home of the Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament. The coliseum also hosted the 1974 NCAA Men's Final Four. Originally built in 1959 as War Memorial Coliseum, it was renamed simply the Greensboro Coliseum in the late 1960s.

As originally built in 1959, it seated 9,200, one of the largest arenas in the South. The arena was heavily renovated in 1993-1994, bring it up to its current configuration, though future expansions are planned. Today, the arena seats 21,273 for ice hockey, and seats up to 23,500 for basketball, the largest in the state of North Carolina (30% larger capacity than Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena and 10% larger than the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill).

Owned by the City of Greensboro, the complex features a flexible capacity arena that can accommodate concerts and events for 4,000 to 23,500 fans; a 2,376 seat auditorium for Broadway theatre and concerts; and a 120,000 square foot Special Events Center for trade and consumer shows and 20,000 square feet of space for meetings of all sizes. The Special Events Center also features a 4,300 seat theater set-up for concerts and sporting events. There are roughly 6,000 on site parking spaces. [1]

Contents

[edit] Hockey

The hockey history of Greensboro actually begins in 1959, when the Greensboro Generals of the Eastern Hockey League set up shop and played until the league folded in 1973; the team jumped to the Southern Hockey League for four seasons until that league too ceased operations in January 1977. Greensboro hockey's modern era began with the Greensboro Monarchs of the East Coast Hockey League, who played there from 1989–90 to 1994–1995. When the American Hockey League expanded southward in 1995, it invited Greensboro to join; the new team took the Monarchs nickname, but attempted to draw a more regional fan base by labeling themselves the Carolina Monarchs. When the Carolina Hurricanes announced their move from Hartford, Connecticut in 1997 (when they were known as the Hartford Whalers), they leased the Coliseum for two years while waiting for the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina to be completed. Subjected to their second major ticket price hike in three years and not willing to support a team that was destined for Raleigh, Greensboro hockey fans rarely sold the Coliseum out for the Hurricanes; In the 1998–99 season, the team actually curtained off most of the upper deck for home games in an effort to artificially create scarcity in the ticket market, force would-be attendees to purchase higher-priced tickets, and hide what national media mocked as "Green Acres" of empty seats.

Once the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena (now the RBC Center) was completed and the Hurricanes moved out, the plan was that the Monarchs, who spent those two years in New Haven, Connecticut as the Beast of New Haven, would move back into the Coliseum as a Hurricanes affiliate. However, Monarchs owner Bill Black had a different idea; he briefly explored the possibility of selling shares of the Monarchs to the public. After that fell through, he exercised the option to sell the team to the Hurricanes, who promptly folded the deal, as well as the team.

Rather than leave the coliseum without a hockey team for the first time in over 10 years, a new hockey team would be born, returning the city to the East Coast Hockey League. The new team would be called the Greensboro Generals. They played in the arena until 2004, when they were terminated by the ECHL due to poor performance and lackluster support from the community. Increased operating expenses from the ECHL Players Union (that formed during the years hockey was away from Greensboro) and increased overhead costs as a result of recent coliseum renovations significantly affected the Generals' ability to promote within the community. It was revealed that after the team folded, nearly all of the money used to support the team over and above ticket revenues, could have been covered by coliseum advertising revenue that was purchased as a direct result of the hockey team's presence. After the team folded, the coliseum saw a significant revenue drop in local advertising and to this day, the coliseum operations must be supplemented with nearly $2 Million a year from city government.

[edit] Basketball

The Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association played most, but not all of their games in the Greensboro Coliseum during their tenure in North Carolina from 1969 to 1974, before moving to St. Louis and becoming the Spirits of St. Louis.

The Greensboro City Gaters played their first and only season as a charter franchise of the Global Basketball Association minor league in 1991-1992 in the Greensboro Coliseum.

The Greensboro Coliseum has played host to many college basketball tournaments. The Atlantic Coast Conference has held their men's basketball tournament at the coliseum twenty times. In 1974 the coliseum hosted the NCAA Men's Final Four and hosted the Southern Conference men's basketball tournament from 1996-1999. The coliseum remains the home for the ACC Women's Basketball Tournament, which continues to grow in fan numbers and revenue every year. The Coliseum last played host to the ACC Men's Tournament in 2006, and will do so again in 2010, 2011, and 2013–15. The coliseum will serve as a host site in 2009 for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Coliseum previously served as a first and second round site for the NCAA Tournament in 2006, and hosted the Greensboro Regional in the Women's NCAA Tournament in 2007 and 2008. The coliseum is the first arena to host three basketball tournaments in consecutive weeks. The coliseum has also hosted NBA basketball, high school basketball, and the Harlem Globetrotters.

From 1959 to 1989, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons basketball team played a portion of its home schedule there--usually games against popular opponents that couldn't be accommodated in the smaller Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum.

The arena has also served as an alternate home floor for the UNCG Spartans basketball team as well. Beginning with the 2009-2010 season, UNCG will move all its home games there from the cramped Fleming Gym on campus, which had been its home court since 1989. [1]

[edit] Indoor Football

The coliseum first saw an Arena Football team when the Greensboro Prowlers of the Af2 league played in the coliseum from 1999 until 2004. The team folded due to a poor record and lack of fan support. The Greensboro Revolution of the National Indoor Football League played here in 2006 and 2007. The team ceased operations on January 23, 2008.

[edit] Entertainment

The coliseum has hosted many events over time, including Monster Jam, Arenacross, the PBR, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and large-scale religious gatherings.

The coliseum has also hosted many large professional wrestling cards. World Championship Wrestling held their Starrcade pay-per-view four times at the coliseum. WCW also held WrestleWar 1990 at the coliseum. The National Wrestling Alliance used the coliseum as one of the venues for The Great American Bash 1986 tour. World Wrestling Entertainment used the venue for the Unforgiven: In Your House pay-per-view in 1998, King of the Ring 1999, and Survivor Series 2001.

In addition, its neighboring Auditorium and special events center have hosted concerts, trade shows, Broadway shows, and similar events. The auditorium, which wasn't included in the 1993 renovation of the complex, will soon be renovated to include a banquet hall. In 2004, the 1st Annual King of the Concrete indoor go-kart race was held at this facility.

[edit] Concerts

The Coliseum's large size makes it an ideal location for concerts. Some performers who have come to the coliseum include:




[edit] Other uses

In 2005, the Coliseum was expected to house as many as 500 New Orleans evacuees following the overflow of evacuees from Raleigh. However, the evacuees didn't come as expected, which cost the city and surrounding areas an unknown amount of money.

The coliseum is no stranger to the show American Idol; in fact, it hosted a party for Fantasia Barrino during the finale of Season 3 of the show, which was seen nationwide. It was also the site for the premiere auditions of season 5.

The coliseum has been a frequent stop on figure skating tours such as Stars on Ice, and will host the 2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

It is also a prominent convention center in the Piedmont Triad area, used for conventions, trade shows, and other special events.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.greensborocoliseum.com/about_us.cfm#start7

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Hartford Civic Center		 Home of the
Carolina Hurricanes
1997 – 1999		 Succeeded by
Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena
Preceded by
St. Louis Arena		 NCAA Men's Division I
Basketball Tournament
Finals Venue
1974		 Succeeded by
San Diego Sports Arena
v • d • e
Basketball arenas of the Southern Conference
v • d • e
National Indoor Football League (NIFL)
Indoor Bowl · Mascots
Arenas
Seasons
2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007
v • d • e
Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) men's basketball tournament venues

Reynolds Coliseum (1954–66) • Greensboro Coliseum (1967, 1971–75, 1977–80, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1995-98, 2003–04, 2006, 2010–11, 2013–15) • Bojangles' Coliseum (1968–70) • Capital Centre (1976, 1981, 1987) • The Omni (1983, 1985, 1989) • Charlotte Coliseum II (imploded) (1990–94, 1999–2000, 2002) • Georgia Dome (2001, 2009, 2012) • Verizon Center (2005) • St. Pete Times Forum (2007) • Time Warner Cable Arena (2008)
v • d • e
Carolina Hurricanes
Hurricanes
Championships
Arenas
Greensboro Coliseum • RBC Center
Affiliates
Retired numbers
2 • 3 • 9 • 10
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