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Cricket Arena
The Big I/The Old Coliseum
Facility statistics
Location	Charlotte, North Carolina
Broke ground	?
Opened	1955 (First Run) 1992 (Current)
Closed	1988 (For renovations)
Demolished	On historic register
Owner	City of Charlotte
Operator	City of Charlotte
Surface	--
Construction cost	?
Architect	Odell & Associates
Former names
Charlotte Coliseum (1955-1988) Independence Arena (1988-2001) Cricket Arena (2001-)
Tenants
Carolina Cougars (1969-1974) Charlotte 49ers (1976-1988, 1993-1996) Charlotte Cobras (MILL) (1996) Charlotte Checkers (ECHL) (1993-2005) Charlotte Krunk (2005)
Seating capacity
9,605 (all-seated)

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.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Basketball 1.2 Other sports 1.3 Concerts 1.4 Other events 2 Future 3 External links 4 References

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.

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.

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'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.

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.

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.

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.

• Cricket Arena Website

Preceded by Belk Gymnasium 1970-1976

Home of the Charlotte 49ers 1976–1988

Succeeded by Charlotte Coliseum 1988-1993

Preceded by Charlotte Coliseum 1988-1993

Home of the Charlotte 49ers 1993–1996

Succeeded by Halton Arena 1996-present

v • d • e Sports Venues in Metrolina

American Legion Memorial Stadium (Charlotte) • Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte) • Belk Track/Transamerica Field (Charlotte) • Cabarrus Arena & Events Center (Concord) • Charlotte Bobcats Arena (Charlotte) • Concord Motorsport Park (Concord) • Cricket Arena (Charlotte) • Dale F. Halton Arena (Charlotte) • Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium (Kannapolis) • Grady Cole Center (Charlotte) • Irwin Belk Complex (Charlotte) • Irwin Belk Stadium (Wingate) • John M. Belk Arena (Davidson) • Keffer Stadium (Charlotte) • Knights Castle (Fort Mill) • Lowe's Motor Speedway (Concord) • Richardson Stadium (Davidson) • Robert and Mariam Hayes Stadium (Charlotte) • Sims Legion Park (Gastonia) • Waddell High School Stadium (Charlotte) • Winthrop Coliseum (Rock Hill) • U.S. National Whitewater Center (Mecklenburg Co.) • Belk Gymnasium (Closed, Charlotte) • Charlotte Coliseum (Demolished, Charlotte) • Griffith/Crockett Park (Burned down, Charlotte) • Metrolina Speedway (Dormant, Charlotte) • Matthews Sportsplex (Being built, Matthews) • New Knights Stadium (Planned, Charlotte)

Current arenas in the Continental Basketball Association
Western Conference		Eastern Conference
Butte Civic Center | Four Seasons Arena | Great Plains Coliseum | McAllen Convention Center | Yakima SunDome		Eastern Kentucky Expo Center | John H. Lewis Gymnasium | Mellon Arena | Minot Municipal Auditorium | Washington Avenue Armory

Coordinates: 35°12′18.59″N, 80°47′42.37″W