Veterans Memorial Coliseum (Portland)

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Veterans Memorial Coliseum
The Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland
The Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland
Earlier names

Portland Memorial Coliseum (until 2011)

Data
place 300 North Winning Way Portland , Oregon 97227
United StatesUnited States
Coordinates 45 ° 31 '56 "  N , 122 ° 40' 10"  W Coordinates: 45 ° 31 '56 "  N , 122 ° 40' 10"  W
owner City of Portland
operator Anschutz Entertainment Group
start of building 4th February 1959
opening November 3, 1960
surface Concrete
parquet
ice surface
costs 8 million US dollars (1960)
architect Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
capacity 12,888 seats (basketball)
13,000 seats (concerts)
Societies)
Events

The Veterans Memorial Coliseum is a multipurpose arena in Portland in the US state of Oregon . The event hall with 13,000 seats is since 10 September 2009 to the National Register of Historic Places ( German : National Register of Historic Places) due to its architectural significance because of the International Style . The roof and the glass facade are held in place by four 21 meter high, solid concrete pillars and surround the arena's stands like a glass box without any connection. The arena is called The Glass Palace (German: The Glass Palace ) because of its glass exterior . Outside the arena there are two granite walls with the names of American war victims.

In the late 2000s, the city of Portland had a plan to demolish the hall, which had aged over the years, and to build a new ballpark for the Portland Beavers , as their PGE Park venue is being converted into a football stadium for the Portland Timbers ( MLS ) . Its inclusion in the National Register prevented this plan. Then Mayor Sam Adams put together a commission of 32 members. They are to organize the renovation and continued operation of the Memorial Coliseum.

Built in 1960 by Hoffman Construction, the arena was the home of the NBA team Portland Trail Blazers from 1970 to 1995 . Here they celebrated their only NBA championship to date in 1977. From 1995, the team played in the Rose Garden Arena (now: Moda Center ), which was only 50 meters away and was built for 262 million US dollars . The ice hockey team the Portland Buckaroos of the WHL was from 1960 to 1975 their games in the Coliseum from. They were followed by the Portland Winterhawks ( WHL ), who have been based at the Portland Memorial Coliseum since 1976 until today . The guest appearances of Portland Power from the ABL basketball league, which only existed from 1996 to 1998, and Portland Pride (1993–1997) from the CISL indoor soccer league were only brief .

Final in the Davis Cup 2007 USA against Russia

The Memorial Coliseum has hosted many events throughout its history . In 1965 the Beatles gave two concerts in the arena in Portland on their US tour. The poet Allen Ginsberg wrote the poem "Portland Coliseum" about this event . It found z. B. Appearances by Elvis Presley and Luciano Pavarotti as well as an election campaign event by Barack Obama for the 2008 presidential election or the visit of the Dalai Lama . In addition to winning the title in 1977, the Portland Trail Blazers made it to the NBA finals in 1990 and 1992. The 2007 Davis Cup final between the United States and Russia was held in the hall from November 30th to December 2nd. The Portland Rose Festival takes place once a year . The u. a. The accompanying Grand Floral Parade starts in the Coliseum and then leads through the city.

In early 2011, Portland City Council decided to change the name of the hall from the Portland Memorial Coliseum to the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in memory of fallen US soldiers .

Web links

Commons : Veterans Memorial Coliseum  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. oregonlive.com: Memorial Coliseum comes into the National Register of Historic Places article from September 15, 2009
  2. archpaper.com: Report on the demolition plans ( Memento from January 14, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (English) Article from May 19, 2009
  3. chatterbox.typepad.com: Save the Memorial Coliseum (English) article from May 14, 2009
  4. beatlesbible.com: Report on the Beatles in Portland (English)
  5. daviscupfinal2007.blogspot.com: Report on the Davis Cup Final 2007 (English)
  6. rosefestival.org: Homepage of the Portland Rose Festival (English)
  7. djcoregon.com: Portland approves coliseum name change article from January 5, 2011 (English)