St. Louis Arena
NCAA) (1968–1973 and 1991–1994) (1970–1979)Saint Louis Billikens men's ice hockey |
St. Louis Arena (known as the Checkerdome from 1977 to 1983) was an
The Arena hosted conventions, concerts, political rallies, horse shows, circuses, boxing matches, professional wrestling, Roller Derby competitions,
It was demolished in 1999.
History
At the conclusion of the
In 1928 the National Dairy Show offered the city the opportunity to become the permanent location for its annual two-week meeting of dairymen and their prize animals. With no public funds available, a group of businessmen raised private funding for what was projected as a $2 million building. The National Exposition Company in charge of the project hired Gustel R. Kiewitt as architect and the Boaz-Kiel Construction Company as general contractor.
Kiewit's design called for a lamella roof supported by 20 cantilever steel trusses, eliminating the need for view-obscuring internal support pillars. The lamella design consisted of Douglas fir ribs, 3.75 inches (9.5 cm) thick, 17.5 inches (44 cm) wide and 15 feet (4.6 m) long, fitted together diagonally and giving the appearance of fish scales. The huge structure was completed in 1929, just over a year after construction began. At 476 feet (145 m) long and 276 feet (84 m) wide, it was behind only Madison Square Garden as the largest indoor entertainment space in the country. A 13-story building could have been erected inside of it.
The Arena was not well-maintained after the 1940s, and its roof was damaged by
On March 19, 1971, the
In the 1973 NCAA Basketball Final, the UCLA Bruins and legendary coach John Wooden defeated Memphis State 87–66, behind 44 points from Bill Walton who went 21 of 22 from the floor. Over 19,000 were in attendance at the Arena.[4]
On February 13, 1974, the St. Louis Stars played host to the Red Army team at the Arena in the final match of Russian squad's three-city indoor soccer tour of North America. Attendance for the match was 12,241.[5][6][7][8]
In the 1978 NCAA Basketball Final, the Kentucky Wildcats and coach Joe B. Hall defeated Duke 94–88, led by the 41-point effort of Jack Givens.[9]
From 1980 to 1993, St. Louis Arena was the site of the Braggin' Rights basketball game played between the University of Missouri and the University of Illinois.
Spirits of St. Louis – ABA Era (1974–76)
After the 1968 departure of the NBA's
The St. Louis Blues era (1967–1994)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Ticket_All_Star_Game_1970.jpg/220px-Ticket_All_Star_Game_1970.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Brad-marsh_calgary-flames-v-st-louis_11-29-1980.jpg/220px-Brad-marsh_calgary-flames-v-st-louis_11-29-1980.jpg)
By the time the NHL's St. Louis Blues began playing at the Arena, it had fallen into such poor condition that it had to be heavily renovated for the 1967–68 season. As a condition of getting the expansion franchise, Blues owner Sid Salomon Jr. purchased the Arena from the Chicago Black Hawks and spent several million dollars to renovate the building and add some 3,000 seats, bringing the total to almost 15,000. It never stopped being renovated from that day on, and held almost 20,000 seats by the time the Blues left the Arena in 1994. Many fans considered its sight lines the best of any arena in the league, which is remarkable considering that it was not originally built for hockey. It was also known as one of the loudest arenas in the league.
The Blues played their first game at the Arena on October 11, 1967, against the Minnesota North Stars, which ended in a 2–2 tie. Bill Masterton scored the building's first goal while Larry Keenan scored the first Blues goal.
In 1977, the Arena and the Blues were purchased by Ralston Purina, which rechristened the building the Checkerdome after the company's checkerboard logo. By 1983, the cereal and pet food corporation had lost interest in the Blues and the Arena, and forfeited the team to the league. The team was nearly moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, before it was purchased by Harry Ornest, a Los Angeles-based businessman, who promptly returned the Arena to its original name.
The Blues played their final game at the Arena on April 24, 1994, losing game four of the first round to the Dallas Stars 2–1. Phil Housley scored the Blues' final goal in the Arena while Dallas' Mike Modano scored the building's final two goals.
After the Blues moved to their new home, the venue now known as
Closure and demolition (1994–1999)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/St._Louis_Arena.jpg/220px-St._Louis_Arena.jpg)
As a condition for the private financing of the demolition of city-owned
The Arena site today
A business/residential development, The Highlands (named after an amusement park that was once adjacent to the site), now occupies the land that the St. Louis Arena called home, and includes the following:
- Four apartment buildings, of which the two northern-most feature loft-style units.
- A Hampton Innhotel, a restaurant, a coffee shop and bakery, Children's Miracle Network Hospitals of Greater St. Louis, and a yoga studio.
- 1001 Highlands Plaza Drive West, an office building home to—among other businesses—the St. Louis group of iHeartMedia's radio stations (KSLZ, KATZ-FM, KTLK-FM, KATZ, KLOU, and KSD).
- A grass plaza, with an oval grass section surrounded by concrete sidewalks now sits at 1001 Highlands Plaza Drive West at the location where the original arena stood.
- A medical office building.
Sports teams
Sports teams that called the Arena home include:
- AHA and AHL(1929–1953)
- St. Louis Eagles of the NHL (1934–1935)
- Chicago Black Hawks of the NHL (occasional use, 1953–1959)
- CHL(1963–1967)
- St. Louis Blues of the NHL (1967–1994)
- St. Louis Hawks of the NBA(occasional use, 1955–1968)
- NASL(1971 and 1974)
- Spirits of St. Louis of the ABA (1974–1976)
- MISL(1979–1988)
- MISL(1989–1992)
- NPSL(1992–1994)
- Saint Louis University basketball team (1968–1971, 1975–1976, 1978–1982 and 1991–1994)
- Saint Louis University hockey team (1970–1979)
- St. Louis Vipers of RHI (1993–1994)
Concerts
This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2017) |
- Led Zeppelin performed a single sold-out show on April 15, 1977, at the St. Louis Arena as part of their final North American tour.[15]
- Grateful Dead, May 15, 1977.[16]
- Ted Nugent and Sammy Hagar performed in concert on December 6, 1978. During the show a massive ice storm hit St. Louis and concert goers left the venue to find everything covered in a thick glaze of ice and serious traffic problems.
- The Bee Gees performed here on August 1, 1979, as part of their Spirits Having Flown Tour.
- Fleetwood Mac performed two sold-out shows here as part of their Tusk Tour on November 5 and 6, 1979.
- The Charlie Daniels Band and Leon Russellperformed here on Friday, December 26, 1980.
- The Electric Light Orchestra and Hall & Oates performed here on ELO's Time Tour on October 29, 1981.
- Joan Jett & the Blackheartsas the opening act.
- Prince performed at the Checkerdome on December 4, 1982.[17] Opening acts were Morris Day and the Time and Vanity 6
- Journey performed at the Arena on September 30, 1986, as part of their Raised on Radio Tour. Their opening acts were Honeymoon Suite, Glass Tiger, The Outfield and Andy Taylor, a member of Duran Duran.
- Pink Floyd performed A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour at the St. Louis Arena on November 15 and 16, 1987.[18]
- Michael Jackson performed a sold–out show in front of 17,000 people at St. Louis Arena, during his Bad World Tour on March 13, 1988. The scheduled March 12, 1988 was canceled due to sickness and rescheduled for March 14 which was also cancelled.
- Van Halen performed for their OU812 Tour on November 8 and 9, 1988[19]
- Recycler World Touron November 7 and 8, 1990.
- Bruce Springsteen performed at the St. Louis Arena January 28, 1981 The River Tour, November 15, 1984 Born In The U.S.A. Tour, April 17, 1988 Tunnel of Love Express Tour and December 3, 1992 1992 World Tour.
- Metallica performed at the St. Louis Arena for their Wherever We May Roam Tour on November 24, 1991
- Neil Diamond performed at the St. Louis Arena December 11, 1977, May 27, 1982, April 26–27, 1983, August 26–27, 1984, December 11–12, 1985, June 13, 1989, and March 10, 1993.
References
- Finnigan, Joan (1992). Old Scores, New Goals: The Story of the Ottawa Senators. Quarry Press. ISBN 1-55082-041-9.
- ^ a b "St. Louis Arena".
- ^ Former Eagles player Frank Finnigan recalls the fencing while he played there in [Finnigan], pg. 123.
- ^ Flachsbart, Harold (March 19, 1971). "Pro Soccer Sends Up Trial Balloon Tonight". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 23. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
- ^ "ESPN.com - Page2 - Kings of the Big Dance".
- ^ "The Milwaukee Journal - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved April 4, 2018.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "NASL-St. Louis Stars Friendlies".
- ^ "International Matches in St. Louis". SoccerMadeinStLouis.com. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
- ^ "Red Army | SoccerStats.us". Archived from the original on May 18, 2014. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
- ^ "1978 NCAA basketball tournament Bracket and Results - databaseSports.com".
- ^ "Remember the ABA: Spirits of St. Louis".
- ^ "Remember the ABA: Houston Mavericks/Carolina Cougars/Spirits of St. Louis Year-by-Year Notes".
- ^ Sandomir, Richard (September 6, 2012). "Former A.B.A. Owners Ozzie and Daniel Silna Earn Millions From N.B.A." The New York Times.
- ^ Mandell, Nina (January 17, 2014). "Ending the greatest sports deal of all time will reportedly cost the NBA at least $500 million". USA Today. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
- ^ "PowWeb" (PDF). www.stlmedia.net. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
- ^ "Led Zeppelin Arena (St. Louis) - April 15, 1977". Led Zeppelin - Official Website. September 22, 2007. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- ^ "St. Louis Arena - May 15, 1977 | Grateful Dead". www.dead.net. April 4, 2007. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- ^ "Prince's 1982 Concert History".
- ^ Matt. "Pink Floyd news :: Brain Damage - 1987 tour dates/concerts". www.brain-damage.co.uk. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- ^ "Van Halen Tour: 1988/1989". www.vharchives.com. Retrieved May 21, 2018.