Before the future of the Richmond Coliseum is decided, RICtoday is looking into the arena’s 4-decade history, from the multiple city sports teams who have called it home to the most notable performers it has hosted since its opening in 1971.
🏀 Basketball
- Site of VCU men’s basketball games until the Siegel Center was built in 1999
- Part-time home of the Virginia Squires until the NBA was created in 1976
- Decades of MEAC + CAA Championships
- Hosted the Women’s Basketball NCAA Division I Championship in 1994
💪 Professional Wrestling
- Hosted National Wrestling Association events
- WWF In Your House 15 in 1997
- WWE Friday Night Smackdown, WWE Raw with Steve Austin + John Cena
🏒 Hockey
- SPHL Richmond Riverdogs/Renegades played here until 2009
- Indoor Football Association Richmond Raiders used the same field space for 5 years
🤠 Bull Riding
- The Professional Bull Riders hosted its Bud Light Cup Series 1997-1999
- Returned for minor events in 2007
🎶 Concerts
- The Jackson 5 was the first band to play the Coliseum on Dec. 31, 1971 ― the brothers’ first tour. The band’s chart topper “ABC” was released a year prior.
- Elvis Presley performed on June 29, 1976, just over a year before his passing. He closed the concert with “I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You.”
- Snoop Dogg played the last official concert at the Coliseum on Dec. 6, 2018, 47 years after the Jackson 5 show. He closed with “Young, Wild & Free.”
The last event was the Harlem Globetrotters on Dec. 28, 2018, ahead of its official closure in Feb. 2019. Now, the sights + sounds of a packed Coliseum have become a thing of the past.
The future of the Coliseum
According to Richmond City Planning and Development records from June 2021, the Coliseum is due to be demolished in Phase 3 of the City Center Small Area Plan.
These renderings show that developers are looking for more greenery in and around the Coliseum’s acreage and more interactivity with private + public spaces.
This is all a part of the multi-part Richmond 300 Master Plan, which includes construction + development across Shockoe Slip, Jackson Ward + throughout downtown. You can still send feedback to the city through email here before these plans are approved and set into motion.
