Cricket Arena

The Cricket Arena is a 9,605-seat multi-purpose arena and sports venue in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is operated by the Charlotte Coliseum Authority, which also oversees the Ovens Auditorium and the Charlotte Convention Center. The title sponsor is cellular provider Cricket Communications.

History

Cricket Arena was opened and dedicated in 1955 as the Charlotte Coliseum. At the time it was the largest unsupported steel dome in the world. After the new Charlotte Coliseum opened in 1988, the name was changed to Independence Arena (named for its location on Independence Boulevard in Charlotte) and underwent an extensive renovation. In 2001 the arena was given its current-day name in a naming rights arrangement.

Basketball

As the old Charlotte Coliseum it was a site for home games for the Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association from 1969 through 1974. [ [http://www.remembertheaba.com/Carolina-Cougars.html Remember the ABA: Carolina Cougars ] ] It also hosted the ACC men's basketball tournament from 1968-1970 and was the site of the Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball tournament from 1977 through 1980. Additionally, it hosted the Charlotte 49ers from 1976 until 1988, and again from 1993 through 1996.

Other sports

It was the one of the flagship venues for Jim Crockett Promotions and the NWA in the 1980s. It also hosted wrestling pay-per-views Starrcade in 1993, and Slamboree in 1997. The arena was a cornerstone of the Carolinas wrestling territory during that time.

The venue was also the home of minor league hockey in Charlotte from 1956, when the first Baltimore Clippers moved to Charlotte to become the early Checkers, to 1977, when the first version of the Checkers folded. When the Checkers were revived in 1993, they played there until 2005, and the arena would be available should Kelly Cup Playoff games be needed because of the unavailability of Charlotte Bobcats Arena. The ECHL mandates playoff games to be played in a very compact timeframe because the South Division has three consecutive five-game series, and the NBA schedule makes it probable that the Checkers would have to play games in another venue.

The arena also hosted the worst team in Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL) history in the form of the Charlotte Cobras (0-10). The 1996 season was their one and only in the MILL. The team was folded without ever winning a game.

Concerts

The arena's size attracted some of the top acts in music during the 1960s and through the 1970s, including:
*The Rolling Stones on July 6, 1972.
*Elvis Presley, who played the venue several times in the 1970s, including April 13, 1972, and two shows in 1977, on February 20 and February 21.
*Queen, who played on August 13, 1980, as part of their "The Game Tour".

Other events

Cricket Arena has been the site for the Spring Commencement ceremony of Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) for a number of years. JCSU uses Cricket Arena because Cricket offers more seating and parking capacity than JCSU's own on-campus facilities do.

Future

With the departure of the Charlotte Checkers for the new Charlotte Bobcats Arena in 2005, Cricket Arena is left with no major tenant and its future remains in the air. Charlotteans generally like the arena, commonly referred to locally as "The Old Coliseum" or "The Big I," due to its old-time atmosphere and convenient location on Independence Boulevard, one of the city's main arteries. Locals did not feel nearly as much affection for the Charlotte Coliseum, because of its inconvenient location southwest of Uptown (the central business district). The Coliseum was most reviled, however, because it rekindles bitter memories of the Charlotte Hornets, who were moved to New Orleans in 2002 by locally-despised team owner George Shinn. The Coliseum was closed in 2005 and demolished in 2007.

Cricket Arena will remain open as a venue for medium-sized concerts and stage shows which would not be suitable for the new Bobcats Arena, and also high school and some college sporting events, along with local attractions in years to come. Furthermore, Cricket Arena would be ready in case Bobcats Arena may not be available for the ECHL Kelly Cup Playoffs, as the South Division's compact scheduling may affect games (arena availability for compact playoff series has been a problem in the ECHL historically). The arena is not likely to be demolished, as it holds a place on the Charlotte historical register.

References

External links

* [http://www.cricketarenacharlotte.com/ Cricket Arena Website]

succession box
title = Home of the
Charlotte 49ers
years = 1976 – 1988
before = Belk Gymnasium
after = Charlotte Coliseumsuccession box
title = Home of the
Charlotte 49ers
years = 1993 – 1996
before = Charlotte Coliseum
after = Halton Arenasuccession box
title = Home of the
Charlotte Checkers
years = 1993 – 2005
before = first arena
after = Charlotte Bobcats Arena