Barton Coliseum is a 7,150-seat multi-purpose arena located within the Arkansas State Fairgrounds in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

."Robotics Competition Bringing Kids from 11 States and Canada to LR"
''Arkansaw Business''. Retrieved 2015-08-05. The coliseum was dedicated on September 29, 1952, in honor of Thomas Harry Barton, founder of Lion Oil. It is the former home of the Arkansas–Little Rock Trojans

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

, the defunct

Arkansas GlacierCats The Arkansas GlacierCats were a short-lived minor-league hockey team located in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Arkansas GlacierCats were a Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL) franchise in Little Rock, Arkansas. The team was owned by Ed Novess ...

of the WPHL (now defunct) and the defunct Arkansas Impact of the PBL. The Trojans moved into

Alltel Arena Alltel was a landline, wireless service provider, wireless and general Telephone company, telecommunications services provider, primarily based in the United States. Before its wireless division was acquired by Verizon Wireless and AT&T, Alltel pr ...

, when it opened in 1999 and remained there, until the team moved into the

Jack Stephens Center Jack Stephens Center is a 5,600-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States and was built in 2005. It is home to the school's men's basketball, women's basketball, m ...

in 2005, which is located on the UALR campus. Prior to the Trojans' move to the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

, the venue hosted five Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) men's basketball tournaments in 1983, 1986, 1987, 1989 and 1990. It has also hosted three

men's basketball tournaments. The

Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball The Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team, colloquially known as the Hogs, represents the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The team competes in the Southeastern Conference an ...

team would play one or two early season games every year in Barton, but they moved their central Arkansas games to Alltel after it opened. During the annual Arkansas State Fair, the coliseum is the venue for the fair's

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

events. Additionally, it is used as the location throughout the year for spectator events featuring monster trucks, motorcycle acrobatics, and other shows. Countless rock concerts were held here until the completion of Alltel Arena. This fan-friendly site sold

general admission In live entertainment there are several possible schemes for the seating assignment of spectators, including completely unassigned seating. There are several schemes most commonly used, though there are no firm rules, and alternate or modified sc ...

tickets so that hardcore fans arriving hours before the doors opened could just about guarantee themselves a spot on the barrier. The entire floor of the coliseum was standing room only. Tailgating in the parking lot before the shows made these rock concerts all day parties.

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock a ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

Hank Williams Jr. Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style has been described as a blend of rock, blues, and country. He is the son of count ...

The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969. Its founding members were brothers Duane Allman (slide guitar, lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards), as well as Dickey Betts ( ...

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...

Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo (née Andrzejewski; formerly and still professionally Benatar ; born January 10, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has two multi-platinum albums, five platinum albums, and 15 US ''Billboa ...

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. For almost 56 years, it consisted of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard (musician), Frank Beard, and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill prior to his death in 2021. ZZ ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

, and

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

are just some of the musical acts that played at Barton over the years. On April 17, 1972,

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

played Barton Coliseum to 10,000 fans and a complete sell out. Elvis wore the “Burning Love” suit. Elvis's suits were not named by him, but mostly posthumously by his legions of fans. On December 2, 1972, it played host to

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...

concert tour, featuring

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

. In 1978,

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island, New York, in the hamlet of Stony Brook, in 1967. They have sold 25 million records worldwide, including 7 million in the United States. ...

made a live recording of "

(Don't Fear) The Reaper "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is a song by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult from the 1976 album '' Agents of Fortune.'' The song, written and sung by lead guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, deals with eternal love and the inevitability ...

", which was later used on their live album, ''

Some Enchanted Evening "Some Enchanted Evening" is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' South Pacific''. It has been described as "the single biggest popular hit to come out of any Rodgers and Hammerstein show." Mast, Gerald''Can't Help Sing ...

''. On October 29, 2012,

Rob Zombie Robert Bartleh Cummings (born January 12, 1965), known professionally as Rob Zombie, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live show ...

along with

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer and the only original member remaining of the Marilyn Manson (band), same-titled band he founded in 1989. Th ...

played at Barton Coliseum in support of their Twins of Evil 2012 tour. The Arkansas high school boys and girls basketball state finals were held here in 2013. The annual Arkansas Big Buck Classic is held at the state fairgrounds every January, and Barton is utilized for the 3-day event.

References

External links

Arkansas State Fair History
at The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture - EncyclopediaOfArkansas.net
Contact info and map
at Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau - LittleRock.com
Contacts and details
at Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism - Arkansas.com
Official Website
at Arkansas State Fair - ArkansasStateFair.com {{Authority control Little Rock Trojans basketball College basketball venues in Arkansas Ice hockey venues in the United States Sports venues in Little Rock, Arkansas 1952 establishments in Arkansas Sports venues completed in 1952 University and college buildings completed in 1952

See also

References

External links