General James White Memorial Civic Auditorium and Coliseum (usually shortened to Knoxville Civic Coliseum) is a multi-purpose events facility in Knoxville, Tennessee, owned by the Knoxville city government and managed by SMG. Its components are an auditorium with a maximum seating capacity of 2,500,[1] a multi-purpose arena with a maximum seating capacity of 6,500,[2] an exhibition hall and a reception hall. It was built in 1961.[3]
![]() | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2009) |
![]() | |
![]() ![]() Knoxville Civic Coliseum Location within Tennessee Show map of Tennessee![]() ![]() Knoxville Civic Coliseum Location within the United States Show map of the United States | |
Full name | General James White Memorial Civic Auditorium and Coliseum |
---|---|
Location | 500 Howard Baker Jr. Avenue Knoxville, Tennessee 37915 |
Owner | City of Knoxville |
Operator | SMG |
Capacity | 6,500 (coliseum) 2,500 (auditorium) |
Construction | |
Opened | 1961 (1961) |
Architect | Painter, Weeks, and McCarty |
Tenants | |
Knoxville Knights (EHL) (1961–1968) Knoxville Cherokees (ECHL) (1988–1997) Tennessee Volunteers ice hockey (SECHC) (1992–present; half of home games) Knoxville Speed (UHL) (1999–2002) Tennessee ThunderCats/Riverhawks (IPFL/NIFL) (2001–2003) Knoxville Ice Bears (SPHL) (2002–present) Knoxville NightHawks (PIFL) (2012–2013) | |
Website | |
knoxvillecoliseum.com |
The arena is home to the Knoxville Ice Bears, of the SPHL and the University of Tennessee Ice Vols, of the ACHA. In the past, the arena hosted the Knoxville Speed, of the UHL, the Knoxville Cherokees, of the ECHL and the Knoxville Knights, of the EHL. It was also the home of the Tennessee ThunderCats/Riverhawks professional indoor football franchise.
It was the main home arena for Smoky Mountain Wrestling, a regional wrestling promotion, run by pro wrestling Hall of Famer Jim Cornette from 1992 to 1995.
Performances hosted in the facility have included circuses, plays and musicals, symphony orchestra concerts, popular music concerts, and comedians.[3] On March 18, 1982, the venue was notable to be the site of Randy Rhoads' final show, before his death in a plane crash the very next day.[4][5]
Chicago broke the record (at that time) for the fastest sellout to a concert at the Coliseum for their August 26, 1971, performance.
Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Area sports venues | ||
---|---|---|
Current | ||
Former |
Southern Professional Hockey League | |
---|---|
Teams |
|
Arenas |
|
Seasons |
|
|
Smoky Mountain Wrestling | |
---|---|
Championships |
|
Personnel |
|
Programming |
|
Venues |
|
Independent revivals |
|
Partnerships |
|
Authority control ![]() |
|
---|
![]() | This Tennessee sports venue-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |