Opened 1954 | Operator Encompass Sports Capacity 4,000 | |
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Similar Independence Stadium, Shreveport Municipal Memorial, R W Norton Art Gallery, Market Square Arena, Carolina Coliseum | ||
The Hirsch Memorial Coliseum is a 4,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Shreveport, Louisiana. It is named after William Rex Hirsch, a former fair president, manager and treasurer. The building was constructed in 1954, the year of Hirsch's death. The coliseum is located adjacent to the Independence Bowl stadium and across from Fair Park High School in Shreveport.
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Sports tenants
The Hirsch was home to the professional Shreveport Mudbugs minor league ice hockey team, from 1997, until they moved to the CenturyTel Center, in Bossier City in 2000. It hosted the 1981 Atlantic Sun Conference men's basketball tournament and has hosted the Southland Conference men's basketball tournament six times. It was also home to the Shreveport-Bossier Bombers indoor football team.
The Coliseum has hosted many wrestling events over the years including NWA, WCW and WWE events.
From 2013 to 2015, the Hirsch was home to a professional basketball franchise through the American Basketball Association called the Shreveport-Bossier Mavericks.
In 2016, a new junior hockey team returned as the Shreveport Mudbugs in the North American Hockey League and play at George's Pond at Hirsch Memorial Coliseum.
Music events
It also has a long history as a concert venue. Most notably, Hirsch Memorial Coliseum is where the words "Elvis has left the building!" were first uttered in 1957. Rush was scheduled to perform during their Roll the Bones Tour on February 22, 1992, with Primus as their opening act, but the show was cancelled due to Geddy Lee contracting laryngitis. In January 1995, it was the scene of a small scale riot, when a Pantera concert was cancelled at the last minute, because of a city ordnance that had just gone into effect, requiring seating on the floor, which the band felt created an unsafe situation for the fans and themselves.