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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. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... Charlotte redirects here. ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Carolina Cougars was a basketball franchise in the former American Basketball Association that existed from late 1969 through 1974. ... Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... The Charlotte 49ers is the name for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that play for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. ... Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... The Charlotte Cobras were a member of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League for the 1996 season. ... The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is the professional league of mens indoor lacrosse in North America. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... The Charlotte Checkers are an American ice hockey team in Charlotte, North Carolina, playing in the ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League). ... The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada, generally regarded as a tier below the American Hockey League. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Charlotte Krunk is an American Basketball Association (21st century) team playing out of Charlotte, North Carolinas Cricket Arena. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Arena (disambiguation). ... Charlotte redirects here. ... Ovens Auditorium is an auditorium located adjacent to Cricket Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. ... Photo Credit: Brian Gassel, TVS The Charlotte Convention Center opened in 1995 as a venue for conventions, trade shows, banquets and theater-style conferences, attracting more than half a million visitors each year. ... Cricket Communications, Inc. ...

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. Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... The Charlotte Coliseum was a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Naming rights are the right to name a piece of property, either tangible property or an event, usually granted in exchange for financial considerations. ...

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.^[1]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. Carolina Cougars was a basketball franchise in the former American Basketball Association that existed from late 1969 through 1974. ... Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is one of the oldest collegiate athletic leagues in the United States. ... The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAAs Division I since 1976. ... The Charlotte 49ers is the name for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that play for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. ...

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. Jim Crockett Promotions was the name of a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. ... Starrcade was the primary supercard of the NWA and World Championship Wrestling from 1983-2000. ... Slamboree was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event from World Championship Wrestling held from 1993 through 2000 that was held in the month of May. ... For the video game, see Pro Wrestling (video game). ...

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. Minor leagues in the sense intended in this article are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. ... A car from 1956 Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Baltimore Clippers were an American ice hockey team. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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.

Rolling Stones redirects here. ... is the 187th day of the year (188th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Elvis redirects here. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... is the 103rd day of the year (104th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Queen are an English rock band formed in 1972 in London by guitarist Brian May, lead vocalist Freddie Mercury, and drummer Roger Taylor, with bassist John Deacon joining the following year. ... is the 225th day of the year (226th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... The Game Tour was a concert tour by the English rock band Queen to support their successful 1980 album The Game. ...

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. Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) is a private, co-ed, four-year liberal arts institution of higher learning located in the heart of Charlotte, North Carolina; it is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. ...

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. Charlotte Bobcats Arena (also known locally as The Uptown Arena or, for short, Bobcats) is an entertainment and sports venue located in the Uptown (downtown) area of Charlotte, North Carolina. ... The New Orleans Hornets are a professional basketball team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. ... New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, United States of America. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

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.

In June, 2006 it was announced in the Charlotte Observer that the Arena would host races from the Arena Racing USA league. The Charlotte effort is being headed by NASCAR owner Joe Gibbs along with drivers Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Charlotte Observer, serving Charlotte, North Carolina, is the oldest daily newspaper in the United States (other newspapers, such as The New York Times began circulation before The Observer but were not daily). ... Arena Racing USA is a motorsports series founded by former NASCAR chassis builder Ricky Dennis, son of 1970 NASCAR Rookie of the Year, Bill Dennis. ... Jeff Burton (99), Elliott Sadler (38), Ricky Rudd (21), Dale Jarrett (88), Sterling Marlin (40), Jimmie Johnson (48), and Casey Mears (41) practice for the 2004 Daytona 500 The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the largest sanctioning body of motorsports in the United States. ... Joe Jackson Gibbs (born November 25, 1940) is a Hall of Fame American football coach and NASCAR Championship team owner. ... For other persons named Tony Stewart, see Tony Stewart (disambiguation). ... James Dennis Hamlin, Jr. ...

References

External links

• Cricket Arena Website

Coordinates: 35°12′18.59″N, 80°47′42.37″W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...