Sam Houston Coliseum

Sam Houston Coliseum was an indoor arena located in Houston, Texas. It was located at 801 Bagby Street near downtown. The arena was opened in November 1937 and had a capacity of 9,200. It was built in conjunction with the Houston Music Hall, which was adjacent to the Coliseum. The Coliseum and Music Hall complex replaced the Sam Houston Hall, which was a wooden structure that had been erected on the site for the 1928 Democratic National Convention and torn down in 1936. [http://www.ledzeppelin-database.com/geekbaseweb/forumpage.aspx?g=posts&t=36 Venue information and background] ]

In 1946, permanent ice chillers were installed in the floor to accommodate an ice hockey rink for Houston's first pro ice hockey team - the Houston Skippers of the USHL. The Skippers changed their name the following season to the Houston Huskies and called the Coliseum home until their demise in 1949.

The venue also played host to the Houston Apollos of the CPHL from 1965 to 1969, Houston Mavericks of the ABA from 1967 to 1969, the Houston Aeros of the WHA from 1972 to 1975, and the Houston Apollos of the CHL from 1979 to 1981. The Aeros moved to the Houston Summit which opened in November of 1975 and played their final 4 seasons there.

The Houston Mavericks of the American Basketball Association played their home games in Sam Houston Coliseum from 1967 through 1969.

On October 14, 1956, Elvis Presley's concert at the Coliseum ended abruptly, as he and his band were taken away by police escort just before the end of the show, as a mob of about a 1,000 teenagers rushed the stage, their instruments being destroyed as a result. Almost nine years later, The Beatles played a concert there on August 19, 1965 during their 1965 American tour.

Jimi Hendrix played there on June 6, 1970, three months before he died.

The Black Crowes played a free concert at the venue in 1993. The free show was due to security problems that forced the cancellation of the last show they played in Houston. The show was broadcast nationally on radio across North America, and also was videotaped for the video "Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye" The audio version was released on EP's dubbed "High in Houston".

The Coliseum was also home to Houston Wrestling, run by legendary wrestling promoter, Paul Boesch.

Sam Houston Coliseum was demolished in 1998. [http://www.ledzeppelin-database.com/geekbaseweb/forumpage.aspx?g=posts&t=36 Venue information and background] ] The former site of the Sam Houston Coliseum was redeveloped into the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, which opened its doors in 2003.

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