Hollywood Sportatorium
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The Hollywood Sportatorium was a large events facility located in Pembroke Pines, Florida. During its existence, it was the only venue of its kind in South Florida. Built in 1969 and opened in September 1970, it had a concert capacity of 15,500 seats, over three times the capacity of its Dallas counterpart, also called the Sportatorium. Adjacent to the Miami-Hollywood Motorsports Park, which was constructed four years earlier, the Sportatorium was located at 16661 West Hollywood Boulevard (now 17171 Pines Boulevard). At the time, Pines Boulevard was a two-lane road in a thinly populated area of unincorporated Broward County. The land on which the arena stood was annexed to Pembroke Pines in 1980.
The Sportatorium was a crudely constructed arena made of cement and sheet metal, and originally lacked any indoor climate controls. Air conditioning was installed in 1976, but it was ineffective. The Sportatorium was damaged in late 1979 when the rock group KISS suspended, or 'flew,' too much equipment from the superstructure of the building.[citation needed] The Sportatorium was the site of concerts for Bryan Adams Bob Dylan, Madonna, Duran Duran, Whitney Houston, Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin,Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, Queen, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Van Halen, the Grateful Dead, Billy Joel, Motley Crue, AC/DC, Rush, and other bands in the 1970s and 1980s. Numerous conventions took place at the facility, including a Star Trek convention featuring Gene Roddenberry. The Jehovah's Witnesses also held religious assemblies there. Despite hosting well-known musical acts, the Sportatorium was notorious for poor acoustics.[1] Roger Waters described the Sportatorium as a "real compromise" because there was no other venue in South Florida at the time.[1] At one concert at the facility, Billy Joel reacted to the echo by yelling, “This place sucks!”[citation needed] On a nationally syndicated radio show featuring Robert Plant as a guest, he fielded a call from South Florida. Upon hearing where the caller was from, Plant responded by saying "You have that awful Sportatorium down there. When are you going to build something new?"[citation needed] It was also infamous for occasionally leaking over the stage (and performers) or the audience during heavy rainfalls.[1] Pat Benatar also famously fainted on stage at the Sportatorium back in the early 1980s.[citation needed]
Plans to convert the Sportatorium into a hockey arena were never realized, and it finally closed in 1988 due to the loss of business to the newly-built Miami Arena in neighboring Miami-Dade County. The Sportatorium did gain a short reprieve when a few shows, including one by AC/DC, that were originally scheduled to take place at the new Miami Arena had to be moved to the Sportatorium due to delays on the completion of the new arena. Its final show on October 21, 1988 featured country music acts Highway 101, The Desert Rose Band, and Larry Boone.
In 1993, due to disuse, hurricane damage from the previous year's Hurricane Andrew and zoning changes creating residential neighborhoods surrounding the facility, the Hollywood Sportatorium was torn down. A Sedano's supermarket occupies the precise site where the arena once stood. Most of the Sportatorium's target business would return to Broward County in 1998 with the completion of BankAtlantic Center in nearby Sunrise, Florida.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Fitch, Vernon (1985). "Roger Waters Flies Down South". Amazing Pudding. http://pinkfloydarchives.com/Articles/PC.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 26°00′32″N 80°22′31″W / 26.00902°N 80.3752180°W
