Memorial Coliseum
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The Memorial Coliseum is an indoor arena, the oldest part of what is now known as the Rose Quarter area within Portland, Oregon. It was completed in 1960 after its construction was financed by an $8 million bond approved by voters in 1954. It was dedicated on January 8, 1961 to the "advancement of cultural opportunities for the community and to the memory of our veterans of all wars who made the supreme sacrifice." The facility is 100 ft (30 m) tall and has a footprint of about 3.1 acres (1.25 ha).
It was the home of the Portland Buckaroos of the Western Hockey League. It was the venus for the 1965 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, the site of the second of ten such championships won by UCLA in the 1960s and 1970s.
When the Portland Trail Blazers frachise was awarded for 1970, it became their home court, capable of seating nearly 13,000 when configured for basketball. When Paul Allen bought the team, he built the team a new venue, the nearby Rose Garden Arena, which became the team's home in 1995.
The Portland Power of the ABL played there from 1996-1998. The building is currently used for some Portland Winterhawks games and other events such as conventions, touring shows and high school graduations. It was the host of the March 2005 Big Sky Conference Basketball Tournament.
Its future public use is under study by the city of Portland: it may become part of a proposed "Memorial Athletic and Recreation Complex", though other options have not be ruled out.
External links and sources
- Memorial Coliseum Reuse Study (http://www.portlandonline.com/omf/index.cfm?c=chedb), a City of Portland website
- Memorial Coliseum in a Fight for its Life (http://www.hp-nw.com/sos_memorial.htm), from the website of Historic Preservation Northwest
- Portland's crown jewel or a clunker? (http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=23354), a March 2004 article from the Portland Tribune
- Alternatives abound for coliseum's future (http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=18841), a July 2003 article from the Portland Tribune
- Urban Home Center recommended for Memorial Coliseum redevelopment (http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4184/is_200305/ai_n10046033), a May 2003 article from the Portland edition of the Daily Journal of Commerce