The Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which was located just behind where the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Wall stands today, was across the parking lot of what was then known as the Gator Bowl, the City of Jacksonville’s football stadium. It was designed in the late 1950’s and dedicated in November of 1960. Built at a cost of $3 million, the venue seated 11,000 and sported a 100 foot-tall domed roof. The first event held there was the first ever hockey game played n Jacksonville. The facility hosted numerous indoor sporting events and although designed with inadequate acrostics due to budget restraints according to the building’s designer George Fisher, the facility was a venue for most of the big concert tours of the day from Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley to Led Zeppelin and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Photographer Loyd Sandgren was hired to document the construction of the building as well as interior and exterior shots of the completed facility. After a 43 year run, the building was imploded in 2003 to make way for the new Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.
Tags: 001794, 001803, architecture, coliseum, concerts, dome, exterior, George Fisher, historic photograph, hockey, interior, Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, roof, vintage photography
This building holds a lot of great memories for me and my family!My memories of all the Wrestling matches with Dusty Rhodes and Jack Brisco!I believe my first time going I was only five years old in 1970.All the Fair’s,Circus,and Holiday on Ice!Miss all those great times!The last time I was in that building was The TDJakes Manifest!What a blessing that my last visit was to lift up the Name of Jesus!
SO many memories!!
Starting with Steppenwolf in 1969, I spent many, many evenings at concerts at this venue… back before concerts starting costing an arm and a leg. 😉 Now I go to concerts all over the place. I’m still rocking.
Now that I think about it, it was probably before ’69, as I used to go i to see the country acts at the fair every year. Tammy Wynette, Ronnie Milsap… you name it.
Growing up Jax baby!
I worked for Gomer Kraus Structural Engineer and we developed all the structural drawings of the Coliseum for George Fisher. A sad day when it was imploded.
Dear Sir or Madame,
can you confirm if AC/DC played with Support Act Yngwie Malmsteen at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in 1985? Thanks a lot.
I did some searching of the AC/DC concert history and one listing showed a concert in Lakeland Civic Center with Yngwie Malmsteen as the warm-up band two days before the Jacksonville show the another in the Knoxville Civic Coliseum two days after the Jacksonville show. I found other listings that showed that AC/DC did play a show in the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Jacksonville, FL on November 7, 1985, but couldn’t find a listing that confirmed Yngwie Malmsteen.
Every Thursday went to watch Dusty Rhodes in the 70s