Coleman Coliseum
Former names | Memorial Coliseum (1968–1988) University Field House (planning)[1] |
---|---|
Location | 1201 Coliseum Circle Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487 |
Coordinates | 33°12′11″N 87°32′23″W / 33.202939°N 87.539706°W |
Owner | University of Alabama |
Operator | University of Alabama |
Capacity | 15,383 (basketball) 15,075 (gymnastics) |
Surface | Multi-surface |
Construction | |
Broke ground | August 1965 |
Opened | January 30, 1968 |
Renovated | 2005 |
Construction cost | $4.2 Million ($36.8 million in 2023 dollars[2]) |
Architect | Miller, Martin & Lewis[3] Edwin T. McCowan[3] |
Structural engineer | Ammann & Whitney[4] |
Services engineer | James D. Scrivner[5] |
General contractor | Daniel Construction Co.[6] |
Tenants | |
Alabama Crimson Tide (basketball & gymnastics) |
Coleman Coliseum is a 15,383-seat multi-purpose
In addition to its primary duties as an athletic facility, the coliseum has on numerous occasions served as a venue for artistic performances, musical concerts, and presidential appearances.
History
Coleman Coliseum is named for Jefferson Jackson Coleman, a prominent University of Alabama alumnus. Jefferson Coleman was the first pledge of Theta Sigma Fraternity that would later become the basis for starting the current National Delta Chi Fraternity Chapter at The University on February 12, 1927. Jefferson went on to serve The university in many capacities, from Business Manager of the football team to Director of Alumni Affairs, for almost 50 years. Until his death in 1995, he was the only person that had attended every Alabama bowl game, starting with the Rose Bowl on January 1, 1926. In 1988, The university honored him by renaming Memorial Coliseum after him. In addition, he served Delta Chi nationally by serving in various positions, most notably as “AA” from 1954 to 1956. For his meritorious and inconspicuous service, Jeff was inducted into The Order of the White Carnation.[7]
The coliseum opened its doors for the first time on January 30, 1968, for the traveling Broadway show
On November 14, 1971, Elvis Presley performed an afternoon show at the arena. He returned to the arena on June 3, 1975. The last time he performed at the arena was on August 30, 1976, a year before he died. Led Zeppelin performed a sold-out show at Memorial Coliseum on May 10, 1973, the fourth stop on their 1973 North American tour.
On May 17, 1977, the Grateful Dead played a two set (plus encore) show at the venue, their one and only appearance in Tuscaloosa.[9][10]
President Ronald Reagan visited Coleman Coliseum during his 1984 presidential re-election campaign.[11]
Since the City of Tuscaloosa does not have a municipal civic center, the demand for events grew rapidly and the Coliseum doubled its capacity in the 1970s due to this.
In the 1990s, marquee concerts and events that the arena had seen in the previous two decades grew scarce as the facility became more outdated and became mostly devoted to Crimson Tide athletic events. In the hope that the university could pull more excitement for events at the facility, the Coliseum underwent a significant renovation in 2005, which cost over $24 million.
Coleman Coliseum is also noted for the historic Alabama-
Uses and features
Effective with the 2016–17 school year, Coleman Coliseum is home to both Crimson Tide basketball teams, as well as the women's gymnastics team. The women's basketball team, which played at Foster Auditorium in its first season of 1974–75, began splitting home games between the two venues the following season, and moved its entire home schedule to the Coliseum in 1981. The team returned to Foster late in the 2010–11 season, and used that venue as its regular home until returning to the Coliseum in 2016.[12]
Women's volleyball, which also originally called Foster Auditorium home, moved to the Coliseum in 1995. In 2000, the team moved to the "CAVE" (Coleman Auxiliary Volleyball Extension), and it returned to Foster Auditorium in 2011.
In addition to sports, Coleman Coliseum has been used for other events including
The Coliseum houses the athletic department offices for all varsity sports with three exceptions. The women's basketball and volleyball offices are located at Foster Auditorium while the football offices are housed in the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility. It features an elegant suite that serves as the President's reception area, an
Coleman is also home to the UA athletic department's ticket office.
It is recognizable on television for its "striped" ceiling (a result of bands of acoustical tiles) and the two scoreboards behind each end line, both of which intersperse ads, video boards and scoring information with the familiar "R-O-L-L T-I-D-E" in large illuminated letters. The letters formerly served as a noise meter during games, with the "E" in "TIDE" being red, as a sort of overload light. Now, all eight letters on both ends are constantly illuminated, and the final E is white, like the rest of the letters. Before the 2009–10 season, the facility underwent major renovations and these boards were removed and replaced with a center-hung scoreboard.
See also
References
- ^ "University Field House Now Memorial Coliseum". The Tuscaloosa News. November 5, 1967. p. 15. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ a b "Proposed University of Alabama Field House". The Tuscaloosa News. October 23, 1960. p. 12. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
- ISBN 0-8173-0395-2.
- ^ "Field House Contract Let". The Tuscaloosa News. June 18, 1965. p. 2. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
- ^ Looser, Dick (December 4, 1967). "Word for Field House: Huge". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 1. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
- ^ "University of Alabama Chapter of Delta Chi - Roll Tide Roll". Deltachiua.org. Archived from the original on June 10, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ^ "Coleman Coliseum". University of Alabama Athletics. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
- ^ Grateful Dead concert set list from the Coleman Coliseum show
- ^ Grateful Dead concert photos from the Coleman Coliseum show
- ^ Ronald Reagan in Tuscaloosa Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Alabama Women's Basketball to Return to Coleman Coliseum" (Press release). Alabama Crimson Tide. May 31, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2017.