Allen County War Memorial Coliseum

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Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne
The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne
Earlier names

War Memorial Coliseum

Data
place United StatesUnited States Fort Wayne , Indiana , USA
Coordinates 41 ° 6 '56 "  N , 85 ° 7' 28"  W Coordinates: 41 ° 6 '56 "  N , 85 ° 7' 28"  W.
owner Allen County
start of building January 24, 1950
opening September 28, 1952
surface parquet
costs 1952: $ 2,647,390, 1989: $
26 million,
2002: $ 35 million
architect AM Strauss
capacity 10,500 (concerts)
13,000 (basketball)
10,500 (ice hockey)
Societies)

The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum (short: Memorial Coliseum ) is a multi-purpose hall in the city of Fort Wayne in Allen County of the US state of Indiana . The arena is nicknamed The Jungle .

history

The interior of the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum

On January 24, 1950, construction of the multi-purpose hall began; It was opened on September 28, 1952. Initially, the audience was offered 8,000 places for ice hockey and 10,240 places for basketball. In 1989 the company invested 26 million US dollars in a renovation. Another renovation followed in 2002. The extensive renovation and expansion cost 35 million US dollars. To increase audience capacity; the roof was raised by around 12.5 meters (41 feet ). After the renovation, 10,500 spectators will fit into the hall for ice hockey games and concerts; 13,000 places are available for basketball.

The Breaking Benjamin musical group at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum on January 30, 2010

From 1952 to 1957, what was then the War Memorial Coliseum was the home of the Fort Wayne Pistons of the NBA before they moved to Detroit . Twice (1955 and 1956) the Pistons reached the NBA finals. There were three final games in 1955 and two in 1956 in the hall in Fort Wayne. The 1953 NBA All-Star Game stopped at the War Memorial Coliseum . The Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference 79:75 in front of 10,322 spectators . The US president Harry S. Truman (1958), Richard Nixon (1970), Gerald Ford (1976) and Ronald Reagan (1978) held in the War Memorial Coliseum speeches. In 1982 the Coliseum was the operations center and asylum for victims of severe floods.

Since opening in 1952 until today, the Fort Wayne Komets ice hockey team of the Central Hockey League has been based in the War Memorial Coliseum . Furthermore, the NCAA men's basketball team IPFW Mastodons (Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne) has been using the sports hall since 2001. The Fort Wayne Mad Ants NBA D-League team has played their games in the Coliseum since 2007 . The newly established Fort Wayne Firehawks of the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) have been based in Fort Wayne since 2010 .

The indoor soccer team Fort Wayne Flames ( AISA ) was in the sports arena from 1986 to 1989. Only briefly from 1989 to 1990 received the indoor soccer team of the Indiana Kick (AISA) their opponents in Fort Wayne. The Fort Wayne Fury ( Continental Basketball Association ) stayed at the War Memorial Coliseum from 1991 to 2001 . Twice the Fort Wayne Freedom were in different leagues ( NIFL / UIF , 2003-2006 and CIFL , 2008-2009) in the War Memorial Coliseum at home. The Fort Wayne Fusion ( Af2 ) indoor football team only stayed one season in 2007.

The arena is also a venue u. a. from concerts, performances by comedians , family and ice shows such as Sesame Street Live or Disney on Ice , games by the Harlem Globetrotters basketball troupe , monster truck races, tractor pulling , wrestling events or performances by the Mizpah Shrine Circus . In the Coliseum there are 15 different event rooms for e.g. B. Celebrations, weddings or conferences ready.

The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Exposition Center , which was built in 1989, forms part of the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum complex . The exhibition hall with up to 7,500 seats and an area of ​​over 16,000 square meters is used for exhibitions and sales fairs as well as flea markets, university graduation parties or banquets. There is also a 151-bed Holiday Inn hotel on the Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne campus across from the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Around the War Memorial Coliseum, 4,500 parking spaces are available for visitors to the south and east of the hall.

Web links

Commons : Allen County War Memorial Coliseum  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Memorialcoliseum.com: history of the arena. Accessed May 31, 2020 . ( english )
  2. ↑ memorialcoliseum.com: Allen County War Memorial Coliseum calendar of events (English)
  3. ↑ memorialcoliseum.com: Event rooms ( Memento of November 5, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
  4. ↑ memorialcoliseum.com: War Coliseum and Exposition Center (English)
  5. ↑ holidayinn.com: Holiday Inn Fort Wayne (English)
  6. ↑ journalgazette.net: A fresh image for Holiday Inn - City hotel first in state with new logo, amenities ( Memento from September 22, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (English)