Hampton Coliseum


Hampton Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena in Hampton, Virginia. Construction began on May 24, 1968. The venue held its first event on December 1, 1969, the College of William and Mary vs. North Carolina State University in a college basketball game. On January 31, 1970, the Coliseum formally opened as the first large multi-purpose arena in the Hampton Roads region and the state of Virginia
With a final estimated cost between $8.5 million to $9 million, the arena was designed by Odell Associates and constructed by McDevitt and Starett, both of Charlotte, North Carolina. The venue capacity is configurable from 9,800 to 13,800 seats.

Sport

Hampton Coliseum was one of several former homes of the American Basketball Association Virginia Squires professional basketball franchise. The coliseum was also home to the Virginia Wings in the American Hockey League and Hampton Gulls in the Southern Hockey League and the Hampton Aces of the North Eastern Hockey League and Eastern Hockey League.
The coliseum hosted the Division I men's college basketball ECAC South Region Tournament, organized by the Eastern College Athletic Conference, in 1980 and 1981. The 1985 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament and the 1987, 1988, and 1989 Colonial Athletic Association Men's Basketball Tournaments were held in the coliseum. The Old Dominion Monarchs basketball team played occasional games in the coliseum from 1970 to 1995, usually one game a year, although twice the team played several games in the coliseum, in the 1979–80 and 1984-85 seasons. The Hampton Coliseum is the home of the Virginia Duals annual wrestling tournament, hosting invitational college and high school matches.
National Wrestling Alliance, WCW, WWE and other wrestling promotions had wrestling show from 1980s.

Music

The Grateful Dead performed 21 concerts at Hampton Coliseum between 1979 and 1992, including their now-famous 1989 shows at the venue. The shows were later commercially released as Formerly the Warlocks because the band was billed under the name The Warlocks.
Elvis Presley performed at the Coliseum in April 1972 and again in March of 1974. Both were sold-out shows.
The venue remains popular with the rock band Phish, whose multi-night stand in 1998 was released as Hampton Comes Alive as well as choosing Hampton Coliseum as the site of their 2009 reunion shows. The band has performed at the venue 21 times between 1995 and the end of 2018. Owing to Phish's long association with Hampton Coliseum, the band's fans have dubbed the arena "The Mothership". In 2009 Phish reunited at the Coliseum for a 3 night stand for the first time since their break up 5 years earlier.
The world's first pay-per-view live broadcast of a rock show was held at the venue on December 18, 1981, when The Rolling Stones American Tour 1981 ended with a two-night stint. Guitarist Keith Richards memorably hit a man who ran onstage with his guitar.
Other performers include: Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Pink Floyd, Bassnectar, U2, Marvin Gaye, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., Dave Matthews Band, String Cheese Incident, Widespread Panic, Jerry Garcia Band, Further, and The Other Ones.

Notable recordings

The popularity of Hampton Coliseum among performers has led to the release of many notable live albums and tracks that were recorded at the venue.