Charlotte Coliseum was a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena located in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It was operated by the Charlotte Coliseum Authority, which also oversees the operation of Bojangles Coliseum (known as the Charlotte Coliseum before 1988), the Charlotte Convention Center, and Ovens Auditorium. It was the home of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets from 1988 to 2002 and the Charlotte Bobcats from 2004 to 2005.
The Coliseum hosted 371 consecutive NBA sell-outs from December 1988 to November 1997, which includes seven playoff games. It hosted its final NBA basketball game on October 26, 2005, a preseason game between the Charlotte Bobcats and the Indiana Pacers.
The city of Charlotte sold the property, and the building, along with a Maya Lin commission outside it, was demolished via implosion on June 3, 2007.
History
thumb|Inside the Coliseum prior to a [[Charlotte Hornets game versus the Indiana Pacers on April 9, 2000]]
Construction on the Charlotte Coliseum began in 1986 and was opened on August 11, 1988, with a dedication by the Reverend Billy Graham. The architects, Odell Associates, claimed to have built a state-of-the-art venue, complete with a large eight-sided video scoreboard, but the arena contained far fewer luxury suites than other arenas built in that era. George Shinn had used the under-construction arena as his hole card to get the NBA to place a team in the city. With almost 24,000 seats, it was not only the largest venue in the league, but the largest basketball-specific arena ever to serve as a full-time home for an NBA team. Some thought the Coliseum was too big, but Shinn believed the area's longstanding support for college basketball made the Coliseum a more-than-viable home for an NBA team.
The day after the dedication, the United States Olympic basketball team was scheduled to play an exhibition game at the Coliseum. While preparing for the event, the 40,000-pound, $3.2 million scoreboard was being positioned when it struck the ceiling and crashed to the floor. An alternate floor was brought from the old Coliseum in time for the game that night.
The Hornets would go on to lead the NBA in attendance in eight of its first nine seasons playing in "The Hive".
The Coliseum had fewer amenities than other NBA arenas built in its time. "As nice as the building was, it was ... the last
of the propeller airplanes before the jets came," said Max Muhleman of Charlotte-based Private Sports Consulting. was the final performer to entertain in the Coliseum. The Grateful Dead played nine concerts at the Coliseum between October 1989 and March 1995, and the Jerry Garcia Band played a further concert in November 1991.
{|class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="text-align:center;"
!colspan="4" style=";"|List of concerts and events at the arena
|-bgcolor="#CCCCCC"
! width="200" style=";"| Artist
! width="290" style=";"| Event
! width="120" style=";"| Date
! width="230" style=";"| Opening Act
|-
| rowspan="2" |AC/DC
|Blow Up Your Video World Tour
|August 25, 1988
|White Lion
|-
|Ballbreaker World Tour
|January 13, 1996
|The Poor
|-
|Bob Dylan
|Never Ending Tour
|September 17, 1988
|Black Uhuru
|-
|Bobby Brown
|Don't Be Cruel Tour
|January 20, 1989
|New Edition
|-
|Bon Jovi
|New Jersey Syndicate Tour
|February 17, 1989
|Skid Row
|-
|Def Leppard
|Hysteria World Tour
|October 5, 1988
|Queensrÿche & L.A. Guns
|-
|Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Eminem
|Up in Smoke Tour
|July 29, 2000
|Various
|-
|Eazy E and N.W.A.
|Eazy Duz It Tour
|June 23, 1989
|Too Short, Kid N' Play, Kwamé, J.J. Fadd, M.C. Twist
|-
|Elton John
|Sleeping with the Past Tour
|October 16 1989
|
|-
|Eric B. & Rakim
|Follow the Leader Tour
|August 26, 1988
|
|-
|Eric Clapton
|Pilgrim Tour
|April 22, 1998
|
|-
|Frank Sinatra
|1988 Tour
|August 19, 1988
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |Grateful Dead
|1989 Fall Tour
|October 22–23, 1989
|
|-
|1992 Summer Tour
|June 17–18, 1992
|
|-
|INXS
|Kick Tour
|September 10, 1988
|Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers
|-
|Janet Jackson
|Janet World Tour
|January 9, 1994
|Tony! Toni! Toné!
|-
|Judas Priest
|Mercenaries of Metal Tour
|September 9, 1988
|Cinderella
|-
|Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken
|Independent Tour
|February 24, 2004
|
|-
|Luther Vandross
|Any Love World Tour
|November 5, 1988
|Anita Baker
|-
|MC Hammer
|Too Legit to Quit World Tour
|April 3, 1992
|Jodeci, TLC, Oaktown 357,Mary J. Blige
|-
| rowspan="2" |Metallica
|Damaged Justice
|February 26, 1989
|Queensrÿche
|-
|Madly in Anger with the World Tour
|April 23, 2004
|Godsmack
|-
|Ozzy Osbourne
|No Rest for the Wicked Tour
|November 23, 1988
|Anthrax
|-
|Poison
|Open Up and Say... Ahh! Tour
|February 2, 1989
|Tesla
|-
|Prince
|Lovesexy Tour
|September 24, 1988
|
|-
|Randy Travis
|Old 8×10 Tour
|October 22, 1988
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |Rush
|Presto Tour
|May 2, 1990
| rowspan="2" |Candlebox
|-
|Counterparts Tour
|February 25, 1994
|-
|Test for Echo Tour
|December 12, 1996
|
|-
|Stryper
|In God We Trust Tour
|November 6, 1988
|Hurricane
|-
|U2
|Elevation Tour
|March 29, 2001
|
|-
|Van Halen
|OU812 Tour
|October 7, 1988
|Private Life
|-
|Waylon Jennings
|Full Circle Tour
|October 15, 1988
|Hank Williams Jr.
|}
In film
The Coliseum was used in the filming of the movie Eddie in 1996. It served as the Tech Dome, home of the fictitious Tech University, in the 1998 film He Got Game. The Coliseum was the venue for the 2000 stand-up comedy film The Original Kings of Comedy, and it was also featured in 2002's Juwanna Mann.
Current use
City Park, a mixed-use development, was constructed on the former site. City Park includes townhomes, apartments, hotels, and restaurants. A plaque honoring the former arena is placed near the front of the development.
Notes
External links
- Official website (archived via the Wayback Machine)
- Charlotte Coliseum implosion footage