| Bojangles' Coliseum | |
|---|---|
| The Big I/The Old Coliseum | |
  | |
| Location | 2700 East Independence Blvd Charlotte, North Carolina 28205 |
| Opened | 1955 |
| Renovated | 1988 |
| Expanded | 1992 |
| Owner | City of Charlotte |
| Operator | Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority |
| Construction cost | $4 million for Coliseum and Ovens Auditorium |
| Structural Engineer | Severud, Elstad and Krueger of New York, NY |
| Former names | Charlotte Coliseum (1955-1988) Independence Arena (1988-2001) Cricket Arena (2001-2008) Bojangles Coliseum (2008-) |
| Tenants | Charlotte Checkers (ECHL) (1993-2005) |
| Capacity | |
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The Bojangles' Coliseum is a 9,605-seat multi-purpose arena and sports venue in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is operated by the Charlotte Coliseum Authority, which also oversees the Ovens Auditorium and the Charlotte Convention Center. The title sponsor is Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits.
History[]
Bojangles Coliseum was opened and dedicated in 1955 as the Charlotte Coliseum. At the time it was the largest unsupported steel dome in the world. After the new Charlotte Coliseum opened in 1988, the name was changed to Independence Arena (named for its location on Independence Boulevard in Charlotte) and underwent an extensive renovation. In 2001 the arena was renamed the Cricket Arena in a naming rights arrangement with Cricket Communications. In 2008 Bojangles Restaurants, Inc. bought the naming rights.
Hockey[]
1960 souvenir program
The venue was also the home of minor league hockey in Charlotte from 1956, when the first Baltimore Clippers moved to Charlotte to become the early Checkers, to 1977, when the first version of the Checkers folded. When the Checkers were revived in 1993, they played there until 2005, and the arena would be available should Kelly Cup Playoff games be needed because of the unavailability of Time Warner Cable Arena as ECHL rules regarding playoff games and timeframes are compact, and may force a game to be moved.