The Rapides Parish Coliseum (often called the Rapides Coliseum, as noted on the sign out front) is a multi-purpose arena located on

Louisiana Highway 28 Louisiana Highway 28 (LA 28) is a state highway located in central Louisiana. It runs in an east–west direction from the junction of U.S. Highway 171 (US 171) and LA 8 in Leesville to US 84 west of Jonesville. Route des ...

West in

Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River of the South, Red River in almost the ex ...

. The coliseum can seat up to 10,000 people in the building. Additional space is in the smaller Exhibition Hall, also on the property. Built in 1965 by Buddy Tudor's family-owned construction company in Pineville with foreman Pete Honeycutt along with the senior Tudor directing the construction. The dome-topped coliseum has hosted thousands of events, including music concerts, "monster" truck shows, professional wrestling, trade shows and sporting events. Additional facilities on the grounds include a Exhibition Hall often used for trade shows.

Arena information

The arena was first constructed in 1964 and completed in 1965. The venue features 4 meeting rooms with over of space, 2 multi-purpose rooms with over of space, a catering kitchen, 4 locker rooms, 10 luxury suites, office space, ticket booths, and a merchandise store. The coliseum property contains a 2,500 lot parking space. Anthony S. "Tony" D'Angelo (1917-2012), an Alexandria native, was named in the spring of 1969 as the manager of the Coliseum. After thirty years as an officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, in which he reached the rank of

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

, D'Angelo returned home to take over management of the facility''Obituary of Anthony D'Angelo, '' Alexandria Town Talk'', April 22, 2012. and served in that capacity through most of the 1970s. He was then named the Alexandria municipal public works director under then

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

Carroll E. Lanier, upon the retirement for health reasons of the previous director, Malcolm Hebert. Beginning September 1, 2017, a private firm called SMG will assume management of the Coliseum; the company was actually in place a month earlier in preparation for the transition. SMG has a five-year contract to run the facility. With the Rapides Parish Jury's decision to allow SMG to take over operations for the Coliseum, the officials held a special meeting on August 11, 2017, and voted to dissolve the Coliseum Authority. Rapides Parish officials contend that SMG can offer better incentives to promoters so that a smaller market like Alexandria can land quality entertainment. The company manages eleven facilities in Louisiana, including the

Mercedes-Benz Superdome The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome (formerly known as Mercedes-Benz Superdome), is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

CenturyLink Center in Bossier City.

2017 Renovations

In October 2008, a report was produced for the Rapides Parish Police Jury that estimates the total cost of repairs and needed updates to be $10 million. On November 6, 2012, Rapides Parish voters approved a $23 million bond issue back by a $2.5 million property tax for the coliseum. Also approved was a $1 million tax to pay for the coliseum maintenance and operations for a period of 20 years. The $23 million taxes would pay for renovation projects that included an expanded

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile th ...

, a new 3-story lobby, sky boxes and exhibition hall, improved electrical systems and roofing, new rest rooms, stages, dressing rooms, and a basketball floor, and a rebuilt parking space. The coliseum also features a new center-hung video display. The renovation was designed to give the coliseum a modern appeal and attract larger events for the Rapides Parish area. Start of construction for the project was delayed due to the Rapides Parish Police Jury's difficulty of obtaining a permit to begin the renovations because of dispute between them and the city of Alexandria over the Rapides Parish Coliseum parking lot issue which was eventually settled. The project officially began in April 2015. Renovation was completed and the coliseum held their grand opening on February 10, 2017.

Seating capacity

The arena as a

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...

venue can seat 8,000 for end-stage shows and 10,000 for a center-stage shows. For open floor shows, the arena can seat 7,000. For basketball games, the venue can seat 8,900. The maximum seating capacity history for the venue has gone as follows: *6,512 (1965–2017) *10,000 (2017–present)

Events

Sports

The LSUA Generals Men's and Women's basketball teams played their first ever home game in the coliseum on February 16, 2017, against the

St. Thomas Celts The St. Thomas Celts are the athletic teams that represent the University of St. Thomas, located in Houston, Texas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily ...

. Peak attendance was reached the Men's game with 2,722 fans. This was the coliseum's first event held there since its closure for renovations. The Men's team defeated St. Thomas 80-75 and the Women's team won 80-50.

Future Sports

The coliseum will host the men's and women's

Red River Athletic Conference The Red River Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference's 13 member institutions are located in Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico. History T ...

basketball tournament on March 2–4, 2017. This will be the first time the RRAC's tournament since going to a single site format in 2001 is played outside the state of Texas.

Former sports

Past sports teams based at the Rapides Coliseum include the

Louisiana Rangers Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is border ...

, a member of the IPFL, and the

Alexandria Warthogs The Alexandria Warthogs were a professional ice hockey team based in Alexandria, Louisiana. They played from 1998 to 2000 as a member of the Western Professional Hockey League in the Rapides Parish Coliseum. The team folded in 2000, while the le ...

, a member of the WPHL. The coliseum also has hosted the

Louisiana High School Athletic Association The Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) is the agency that regulates and promotes the interscholastic athletic competitions of all high schools in the state of Louisiana. Organization LHSAA was founded in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in ...

basketball state championships.

Other events

The coliseum was home to the annual Rapides Parish Fair every October from 1960 to 2013. In 2014, the fair moved to the LSUA Ag center on

U.S. Route 71 U.S. Route 71 or U.S. Highway 71 (US 71) is a major north–south United States highway that extends for over 1500 miles (2500 km) in the central United States. This original 1926 route has remained largely unchanged by encroaching Interstat ...

just south of Alexandria. Some of the site's more famous visitors include

Lipizzan stallions The Lipizzan or Lipizzaner ( hr, Lipicanac, cz, Lipicán, hu, Lipicai, it, Lipizzano, sr, Lipicaner, sl, Lipicanec), is a European breed of riding horse developed in the Habsburg Empire in the sixteenth century. It is of Baroque type, and ...

(1973),

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

(1977),

Holiday on Ice Holiday on Ice is an ice show currently owned by Medusa Music Group GmbH, a subsidiary of CTS EVENTIM, Europe's largest ticket distributor, with its headquarters in Bremen, Germany. History Holiday on Ice originated in the United States in Dece ...

, the Rev.

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

(1966), Ronald Reagan (1975),

George Wallace Jr. George Corley Wallace III, generally known as George Wallace Jr., (born October 17, 1951) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Alabama. He is the only son of George and Lurleen Wallace, each of whom was Democratic governor of Alabama ...

(1976). In 2005, the facility was used as a

shelter Shelter is a small building giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger. Shelter may also refer to: Places * Port Shelter, Hong Kong * Shelter Bay (disambiguation), various locations * Shelter Cove (disambiguation), various locat ...

by the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desig ...

after Hurricane Katrina and during

Hurricane Rita Hurricane Rita was the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Gulf of Mexico and the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. Part of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which included three of the top ten ...

. It was during Rita that it lost power and water for a short period of time. Recent events staged at the site include the

Barnum and Bailey Circus The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros., the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Barnum & Bailey, or simply Ringling) is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Ear ...

on Dec. 2, 2008, World Wrestling Entertainment in January 2009, and the Gaither Homecoming Tour on March 7, 2009.

Gallery

File:Coliseum building 600x200.jpg, Rapides Coliseum - Nov 2008 File:Coliseum exhibition hall 600x200.jpg, Rapides Coliseum Exhibition Hall - Nov 2008 File:Coliseum ag barn 600x200.jpg, Lewis-Odom Agricultural Complex - Nov 2008 File:Rapides Parish Coliseum.JPG, Rapides Parish Coliseum before renovations - Nov 2012. File:Renovated Rapides Coliseum Indoors.jpg, Open house inside the newly renovated Rapides Parish Coliseum - Feb 2017.

References

{{Music venues of Louisiana Basketball venues in Louisiana Convention centers in Louisiana Indoor arenas in Louisiana Indoor ice hockey venues in Louisiana Music venues in Louisiana Sports venues in Alexandria, Louisiana Sports venues in Louisiana Sports venues completed in 1965 1965 establishments in Louisiana