St. Louis Arena
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Image:Stlouisarena.jpg The St. Louis Arena (also known as The Checkerdome from 1977-1983) was a historic indoor arena located in St. Louis, Missouri.
After the demolition in 1907 of the famous Exposition Hall, St. Louis lacked an indoor venue for circuses, band concerts, and other large attractions. Nothing was done to remedy this situation until 1928 when the National Dairy Show offered the city the opportunity to become the permanent location for its annual 2-week-long meeting of dairymen and their prize animals. With no public funds available, a group of businessmen secured private funding for what was projected as a $2 million building. The National Exposition Company in charge of the project hired Gustav R. Kiewit as Architect and the Boaz-Kiel Construction Company as general contractor.
Kiewit’s design called for a lamella roof upheld by 20 cantilever steel trusses. The lamella design consisted of Douglas fir ribs, 3.75 inches thick, 17.5 inches wide and 15 feet long, fitted together diagonally giving the appearance of fish scales. Technological advances made it possible to construct the building with no view-obscuring internal support pillars. The huge structure was completed in just over a year. At 476 feet long and 276 feet wide it was, next to Madison Square Garden, the largest indoor entertainment space in the country. It was so large that a 13-story building could have been erected inside of it. The arena was completed in 1929.
The arena was also the site of numerous conventions, concerts, political rallies, horse shows, and boxing matches and other events such as the 1973 and 1978 NCAA men's basketball Final Four, as well as the NCAA Men's Midwest Regional finals in 1982, 1984 and 1993, and the 1992-94 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament. Also, the 1975 NCAA Frozen Four was held there.
The Arena was not well maintained after the 1940s, and had to be heavily renovated when the St. Louis Blues began playing there in 1967. Blues owner Sid Salomon Jr. purchased the Arena from the Chicago Blackhawks (who used it for occasional home games), and spent several million dollars renovating the building. By opening night, the arena held almost 15,000 seats, up from 12,000 at the start of 1967. It never stopped being renovated from that day on, and held almost 20,000 seats by the time the Blues left the Arena in 1994. Many fans considered its sight lines the best of any arena in the country, which is remarkable considering that the Arena was not originally built for hockey.
In 1977, the Arena and the Blues were purchased by Ralston Purina, who rechristened the building as The Checkerdome to reflect the new ownership. By 1983, the pet food giant had lost interest in the Blues and the Arena, and forefited the team to the league. It was purchased by Harry Ornest, a Los Angeles-based businessman, who promptly returned the Arena to its original name.
The Arena was abandoned after the Kiel Center (now the Savvis Center) was opened in 1994. The arena remained vacant for nearly five years until its demolition through a controlled implosion on February 27 1999.
Sports teams that called the Arena home include:
- St. Louis Eagles of the NHL (1934-1935)
- St. Louis Blues (NHL) (1967-1994)
- St. Louis Hawks of the NBA (occasional use, 1955-1968)
- Spirits of St. Louis of the ABA (1974-1976)
- St. Louis Steamers of the MISL (1979-1988)
- St. Louis Storm (MISL) (1989-1991)
- St. Louis Ambush (NPSL) (1992-1994)