Alexander Memorial Coliseum
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The Alexander Memorial Coliseum at the McDonald's Center (originally the Alexander Memorial Coliseum, also nicknamed The Thrillerdome) is an indoor arena located in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the home of the basketball teams of Georgia Tech and hosted the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA from 1968-1972 and again from 1997-1999.
The Alexander Coliseum was originally opened in 1956 for Georgia Tech. It hosted the Hawks as well after they moved from St. Louis while The Omni was under construction. The stadium was heavily renovated in 1986 - adding 2,150 seats in what was previously an upper walkway around the rim of the arena - in 1989-1990 - adding 750 seats in the endzone areas - and again in 1995-1996. During the last renovation, the floor was lowered four feet to improve sightlines and increase seating, twelve luxury suites were added, and most of the benches were replaced with chairback seats. The McDonald's name was also added to the arena in honor of a $5.5 million donation to help pay for the renovation. Today, the arena seats 9,191.
The Coliseum played host to the Hawks again between 1997-1999 after the Omni was demolished and while Philips Arena was being built on the site. During this period, the Hawks played most of their home games at the Georgia Dome.
A McDonald's restaurant was added during the last renovation but has since closed. The "golden arches" on the signs remain pursuant to their corporate donation.
Connected to the south end of the Coliseum are the Luck Building, constructed in the 1980s, and the Coliseum Annex, which was constructed slightly before the Coliseum itself. The Coliseum Annex houses locker rooms, a practice gym, and the offices of Georgia Tech Facilities. The top floor of the Coliseum Annex housed the studios of radio station WGST prior to 1975 and the student radio station WREK from 1978 to 2004.