| The Big I/The Old Coliseum | |
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| Former names | Charlotte Coliseum (1955-1988) Independence Arena (1988-2001) Cricket Arena (2001-2008) Bojangles Coliseum (2008-) |
| Location | 2700 East Independence Blvd Charlotte, North Carolina 28205 |
| Opened | 1955 |
| Renovated | 1988 |
| Expanded | 1992 |
| Owner | City of Charlotte |
| Operator | Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority |
| Construction cost | $4 million for Coliseum and Ovens Auditorium[1] |
| Architect | A.G. Odell and Associates of Charlotte, NC[2] |
| Structural engineer | Severud, Elstad and Krueger of New York, NY[2] |
| General Contractor | Thompson and Street Company of Charlotte, NC[2]Structural Steel Fabrication and Erection Southern Engineering Company of Charlotte, NC[2] |
| Capacity | 9,605 |
| Tenants | |
| Carolina Cougars (1969-1974) Charlotte 49ers (1976-1988, 1993-1996) Charlotte Cobras (MILL) (1996) Charlotte Checkers (ECHL) (1993-2005) Charlotte Krunk (2005) Arena Racing USA (2006-2008) Charlotte Roller Girls (2008) Carolina Speed (2009) |
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The Bojangles' Coliseum is a 9,605-seat multi-purpose arena and sports venue in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is operated by the Charlotte Coliseum Authority, which also oversees the Ovens Auditorium and the Charlotte Convention Center. The title sponsor is Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits. [1]
Contents |
History
Bojangles Coliseum was opened and dedicated in 1955 as the Charlotte Coliseum. At the time it was the largest unsupported steel dome in the world. After the new Charlotte Coliseum opened in 1988, the name was changed to Independence Arena (named for its location on Independence Boulevard in Charlotte) and underwent an extensive renovation. In 2001 the arena was renamed the Cricket Arena in a naming rights arrangement with Cricket Communications. In 2008 Bojangles Restaurants, Inc. bought the naming rights.
Basketball
As the old Charlotte Coliseum it was a site for home games for the Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association from 1969 through 1974.[3]It also hosted the ACC men's basketball tournament from 1968-1970, the Southern Conference men's basketball tournament from 1964-1971 (and again in 2010, for the first three days of the tournament), and was the site of the Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball tournament from 1977 through 1980. Additionally, it hosted the Charlotte 49ers from 1976 until 1988, and again from 1993 through 1996.
Other sports
It was the one of the flagship venues for Jim Crockett Promotions and the NWA in the 1980s. It also hosted wrestling pay-per-views Starrcade in 1993, and Slamboree in 1997. The arena was a cornerstone of the Carolinas wrestling territory during that time. Total Nonstop Action Wrestling held their Genesis pay-per-view at the Bojangles Coliseum on January 11, 2009.
The venue was also the home of minor league hockey in Charlotte from 1956, when the first Baltimore Clippers moved to Charlotte to become the early Checkers, to 1977, when the first version of the Checkers folded. When the Checkers were revived in 1993, they played there until 2005, and the arena would be available should Kelly Cup Playoff games be needed because of the unavailability of Time Warner Cable Arena as ECHL rules regarding playoff games and timeframes are compact, and may force a game to be moved.
The arena also hosted the worst team in Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL) history in the form of the Charlotte Cobras (0-10). The 1996 season was their one and only in the MILL. The team was folded without ever winning a game.
The Carolina Vipers played their one and only season in the Continental Indoor Soccer League in the summer of 1994. The team went 3-25 and then went "inactive" for 1995, never to return. The Vipers averaged 3,034 fans per game in their only season.
Concerts
The arena's size attracted some of the top acts in music during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including:
- Led Zeppelin on April 7, 1970 and June 9, 1972.
- Elvis Presley, who played the venue several times in the 1970s, including April 13, 1972, and two shows in 1977, on February 20 and February 21.
- The Rolling Stones on July 6, 1972.
- The Grateful Dead, who played in the building on December 10, 1973, May 3, 1979 and October 5, 1984.
- Bob Dylan, who played there with The Band on January 17, 1974 and on his own December 10, 1978.
- KISS played the original coliseum on seven tours from 1975 to 1988.
- Queen, who played on August 13, 1980, as part of their The Game Tour.
- Bon Jovi opened the North American leg of The Crush Tour at the arena on November 3, 2000.
- Tool(Tool (band)) played on July 29, 2009 as part of their first tour in nearly 2 years.
Other events
Bojangles Coliseum has been the site for the Spring Commencement ceremony of Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) for a number of years. JCSU uses Bojangles Coliseum because Bojangles Coliseum offers more seating and parking capacity than JCSU's own on-campus facilities do. In addition, UNC-Charlotte, Central Piedmont Community College and many local high schools have also held graduation ceremonies at Bojangles Coliseum.
Future
With the departure of the Charlotte Checkers for the new Time Warner Cable Arena in 2005, Bojangles Coliseum is left with no major tenant and its future remains in the air. Charlotteans generally like the arena, commonly referred to locally as "The Old Coliseum" or "The Big I," due to its old-time atmosphere and convenient location on Independence Boulevard, one of the city's main arteries. Locals did not feel nearly as much affection for the Charlotte Coliseum, because of its inconvenient location southwest of Uptown (the central business district). The Coliseum was most reviled, however, because it rekindles bitter memories of the Charlotte Hornets, who were moved to New Orleans in 2002 by locally-despised team owner George Shinn and Ray Woolridge. The Coliseum was closed in 2005 (after hosting the Bobcats' inaugural season) and imploded in 2007.
Bojangles Coliseum will remain open as a venue for medium-sized concerts and stage shows which would not be suitable for Time Warner Cable Arena, and also high school and some college sporting events, along with local attractions in years to come. The Southern Conference will play the first three rounds of their basketball tournaments in 2010 at Bojangles Coliseum, then move the semifinals and finals at for Time Warner Cable Arena. Furthermore, Bojangles Coliseum would be ready in case Time Warner Cable Arena may not be available for the ECHL Kelly Cup Playoffs, as the South Division's compact scheduling may affect games (arena availability for compact playoff series has been a problem in the ECHL historically). The arena is not likely to be demolished, as it holds a place on the Charlotte historical register.
References
- ^ Charlotte - A Good Place to Live, A Good Place To Do Business, The Charlotte News, 1954, pg 23.
- ^ a b c d Hanks, Edmund E.. "Steel In The Round." Steel Construction Digest, American Institute of Steel Construction Vol 11, No 4, Fourth Quarter, 1954 14-15.
- ^ Remember the ABA: Carolina Cougars
External links
| Preceded by Belk Gymnasium |
Home of the Charlotte 49ers 1976 – 1988 |
Succeeded by Charlotte Coliseum |
| Preceded by Charlotte Coliseum |
Home of the Charlotte 49ers 1993 – 1996 |
Succeeded by Halton Arena |
| Preceded by first arena |
Home of the Charlotte Checkers 1993 – 2005 |
Succeeded by Time Warner Cable Arena |
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Coordinates: 35°12′18.59″N 80°47′42.37″W / 35.2051639°N 80.7951028°W
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