Mid-South Coliseum

Mid-South Coliseum
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location:	996 Early Maxwell Blvd Memphis, Tennessee 38104
Coordinates:	35°07′06″N 89°58′49″W
NRHP Reference#:	00001429
Added to NRHP:	December 6, 2000

The Mid-South Coliseum, also known as "The Entertainment Capital of the Mid-South", was a multi-purpose arena, that seated 10,085 people, in Memphis, Tennessee. It was built in 1963.

History

Rock concerts

The arena was one of the few stops on The Beatles' final American tour. The group played two concerts there on August 19, 1966. The evening performance is infamously known as "the firecracker concert", due to a crowd member exploding a firecracker (which some thought was a gunshot) during the show. Prior to the concert, a remote television news feed, with the arena in the background, shows a Ku Klux Klansman promising "a few surprises" for the group. This interview was in response to John Lennon's statement that The Beatles had become more popular than Jesus Christ.

Former Beatle George Harrison performed at the arena in 1974, the only member of The Beatles to return to the arena.

Elvis Presley also performed at the arena. His first show was on March 16, 1974, which was his first Memphis concert since 1961. The album Recorded Live In Stage In Memphis was the concert from March 20, 1974. Elvis' last concert at the arena was on July 5, 1976. The album Recorded Live on Elvis Presley Blvd, Memphis Tennessee featured for the front cover a photo of Elvis' show in 1975. Elvis In Concert 1997 — The 20th Anniversary Concert was held at the arena and mark the first concert for the Elvis, The Concert.

British heavy metal band Judas Priest's performance at the arena during their Screaming Tour, was released on DVD in 2006, as Live Vengeance '82.

Whitney Houston was scheduled to perform during her My Love Is Your Love World Tour on July 23, 1999, but the show was cancelled.

On November 15–16 of 2002, rock group Widespread Panic performed a pair of performances featuring Mavis Staples and Count Mtubu.

The band 311 held its 311 Day 2006 concert at the Mid-South Coliseum on March 11, 2006, rescheduled from the original site in New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina.

Even with The Pyramid and FedExForum being opened, the arena continued to host shows until its closure in 2006.

Professional wrestling

The Mid-South Coliseum was also well-known in professional wrestling as the home base for the United States Wrestling Association and its predecessors; Jerry Lawler headlined hundreds of shows at the facility. Among many notable events, Lawler faced Terry Funk in a now-legendary "empty arena fight" at the Coliseum in 1981.

Hockey

The Coliseum was built as a hockey arena, and served as the home of the 'old' Central Hockey League team called the Memphis Wings (later the Memphis South Stars) from 1964 through 1969. To accommodate Hockey, the floor had piping installed which allowed the circulation of brine. The floor was often left frozen between games, allowing Memphis Residents to skate. By the time the Memphis RiverKings, of a re-formed Central Hockey League began playing in 1992, the piping had become too rotten for use, and an above-floor system was used.

Basketball

It was also home to three American Basketball Association teams: the Memphis Pros (1971–1972), the Memphis Tams (1972–1974) and the Memphis Sounds (1974–1975). As an ABA arena the Coliseum, with the Pros and Sounds, hosted the Indiana Pacers during the 1971 Western Division Semifinals and the Kentucky Colonels during the 1975 Eastern Division Finals; the Pacers went on to win the 1971 ABA Championship and the Colonels went on to win the 1975 ABA Championship.

It was home to the University of Memphis Tigers basketball team (then known as Memphis State University) before the Pyramid opened in 1991 and the Memphis RiverKings before the DeSoto Civic Center opened in 2000. The Coliseum also hosted five Metro Conference men's basketball tournaments.

TV specials

In 2001, illusionist David Copperfield used the Mid-South Coliseum to film the live audience portion of his Tornado of Fire TV special.

Closure

The venue closed at the end of 2006, apparently because the cost to bring the venue into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act was prohibitive. Its final event was a concert by the Transiberian Orchestra. This view is however unsubstantiated and is further undermined by the fact that the city of Memphis had signed a no-compete clause with the NBA Grizzlies corporation called "HOOPS." This agreement halts the ability of any major venue in the city to hold arena style concerts and/or sporting events anywhere in the Memphis area. As a result many concerts and sporting events that would have been held at the Coliseum or any other arena venue (including the Memphis Pyramid built in 1991 and currently sitting unoccupied) are legally prevented from doing so. As a result Memphians must go to neighboring Mississippi to see many concerts and minor-league hockey. Requests by private entities to buy and use the Coliseum have been denied for a non-specified reason.

References

Events and tenants
Preceded by First arena	Home of the Memphis RiverKings 1992 – 1999	Succeeded by DeSoto Civic Center
Preceded by Elma Roane Fieldhouse	Home of Memphis Tigers basketball, then known as Memphis State Tigers 1963 – 1991	Succeeded by Pyramid Arena