Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Allen County War Memorial Coliseum | |
|---|---|
| Memorial Coliseum, The Jungle | |
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| Facility statistics | |
| Location | Fort Wayne, Indiana |
| Coordinates | |
| Opened | 1952 |
| Renovated | 2002 |
| Expanded | 1989, 2002 |
| Owner | Allen County, Indiana |
| Construction Cost | 1952: $2,647,390 1989: $26 million 2002: $35 million |
| Architect | A. M. Strauss |
| Former names | |
| War Memorial Coliseum | |
| Tenants | |
| Fort Wayne Komets (IHL/UHL/IHL) (1952-Present) IPFW Mastodons (Men's NCAA Basketball) (2001-Present) |
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| Seating capacity | |
| hockey or concert: 12,500 basketball: 13,000 |
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The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum is a 13,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Fort Wayne, Indiana, originally built in 1952 for $3 million in Fort Wayne's Johnny Appleseed Park. The coliseum was designed to seat 8,000 for hockey or 10,240 for basketball.
A large renovation and expansion was underway in 2002, which raised the coliseum's roof by 41 feet, increased the arena's seating capacity to 10,500 for hockey or music concerts and 13,000 for basketball. The structure was designed by A. M. Strauss Architects for the Allen County, Indiana Commissioners.
Contents |
[edit] Sports
It is home to the Fort Wayne Komets International Hockey League team, the IPFW NCAA men's basketball team, the Fort Wayne Freedom Continental Indoor Football League team, and the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League.[1]
The arena was home to the National Basketball Association's Fort Wayne Pistons from 1952 until the team's move to Detroit in 1957 and saw two NBA Finals, in 1955 and 1956, as well as the NBA All-Star Game in 1953. The arena was also home to the Fort Wayne Flames of the American Indoor Soccer Association in the mid-1980s; the team was also known as the Indiana Kick for a few seasons. IPFW hosted the 2000 NCAA Men's Division-I volleyball championship matches in addition to the 2000-2002 Mid-Continent Conference men’s basketball tournaments.
[edit] Trivia
To keep the ice frozen, there are ten miles of refrigeration pipes under the skating rink. When non-ice-skating events use the arena, a sectioned flooring surface is placed on top of the ice.
The grounds surrounding the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum is home to the anchor from World War II's USS Indiana battleship. (The mast of that battleship is erected at Indiana University Bloomington's Memorial Stadium.)
The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum ranked 20th in the world among similar-sized venues by Venues Today, a concert and event industry-leading publication. (2007)[2]
[edit] Related facilities
Within the same building as the arena, the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum contains a 108,000-ft² (0.100-km²) exposition center that can host substantial trade shows and 5,000-guest major banquets.[3] When there are no events in the arena, the exposition center's capacity can extend to a total of 175,000-ft² (0.162-km²). Adjacent to the east of the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum and on the same grounds is the Allen County Memorial Stadium, which is the current home of the Fort Wayne Wizards minor-league baseball team.[4] Adjacent to the northeast is the IPFW campus, especially the portion of the IPFW campus that is on the western bank of the St. Joseph River, on which a Holiday Inn is under construction (as of March 2008), to eventually serve the needs of the Coliseum, Memorial Stadium, and IPFW.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/sports/17052194.htm
- ^ leisure vacation, convention services - fort wayne convention & visitors bureau
- ^ Allen County War Memorial Coliseum - Fort Wayne, Indiana - Who We Are
- ^ Allen County War Memorial Coliseum - Fort Wayne, Indiana - History - Memorial Stadium Information
- ^ http://www.ipfw.edu/assets/images/news/downloadable/projects/hotelGardenBridge.gif
[edit] External links
- Official web site
- 2002 construction details (PDF)
- Timeline: Important Precedents in Stadium Design by Columbia University
| Preceded by North Side High School Gym |
Home of the Fort Wayne Pistons 1952 – 1957 |
Succeeded by Olympia Coliseum |
| Preceded by Boston Garden |
Host of the NBA All-Star Game 1953 |
Succeeded by Madison Square Garden |
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