Memorial Coliseum

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For other uses, see Memorial Coliseum (disambiguation).

The Memorial Coliseum is an indoor arena, the oldest part of what is now known as the Rose Quarter area within Portland, Oregon. It was completed in 1960 after its construction was financed by an $8 million bond approved by voters in 1954. It was dedicated on January 8, 1961 to the "advancement of cultural opportunities for the community and to the memory of our veterans of all wars who made the supreme sacrifice." The facility is 100 ft (30 m) tall and has a footprint of about 3.1 acres (13,000 m²).

It was the home of the Portland Buckaroos of the Western Hockey League. It was the venue for the 1965 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, the site of the second of ten such championships won by UCLA in the 1960s and 1970s.

When the Portland Trail Blazers franchise was awarded for 1970, it became their home court, capable of seating nearly 13,000 when configured for basketball. Three NBA championship series have been (partially) played in the Coliseum; in 1977 (when the Trail Blazers won) and in 1990 and 1992 (in which years the Blazers were defeated). Soon after the 1992 championship series, construction began on the nearby Rose Garden Arena, which became the team's home arena when it opened in 1995.

The Portland Power of the ABL played there from 1996-1998. The building is currently the home arena of the Portland Winter Hawks (Western Hockey League) and holds some Winter Hawks games, as well as other events such as conventions, touring shows and high school graduations. It was the host of the March 2005 Big Sky Conference Basketball Tournament.

In 2004, Portland, Oregon was selected as one of 5 cities in the U.S. to host the Dew Action Sports Tour, a new extreme sports francise to start in 2005. Titled the Vans Invitational, the event was helt at the Rose Quarter fron August 17-21. The Memorial Coliseum hosted BMX: Park, BMX: Vert, Skateboard: Park, and Skateboard: Vert.The Dew Action Sports will return to Portland for year 2.

Its future public use is under study by the city of Portland: it may become part of a proposed "Memorial Athletic and Recreation Complex", though other options have not be ruled out.

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