The Sports Arena has an area of approximately 25,000 square feet. There are 7,250 permanent seats in the upper seating area, and additional temporary seats can be erected to bring the total capacity to 10,500. The windowless room is lighted by a battery of 220 one-thousand watt lamps. The concrete floor is inlaid with almost ten miles of pipe through which brine is pumped to form ice on the floor. A layer of ice from three eighths to three fourths of an inch thick freezes in twelve hours. After an ice show or a hockey game the ice is thawed to slush and scraped into a large pit to melt and drain away. A portable basketball floor can then be installed; the floor consists of 214 four by eight feet sections which can be joined by means of an electric screw driver in two hours. For theatrical or musical productions a portable stage is erected.
Two notable features in the arena are the electric scoreboard and the organ. The first was purchased for the Coliseum by Wolf and Dessauer at a cost of $30,000 and is one of the finest existing scoreboards in the country. Spectators in every section of the arena can easily read one of its four faces. Mrs. Ida Dick of the Dick Piano and Organ Company donated the organ in memory of her husband.
a southwest view of the Coliseum showing the entrance to the Exhibition Hall.
The Exhibition Hall occupies the lower level of the building and covers an acre and a quarter in area. The hall provides ideal accommodations for agricultural and industrial exhibits such as the 4-H Club Fair and the Automobile Show. Because the level has its own separate box office, lobby, and concession stand, events can be scheduled concurrently with those in the Sports Arena without interference. Ramps connect the two levels.
The Coliseum has brought many benefits to Fort Wayne. Local organizations have better facilities for their activities. For example, the 4-H Clubs held their annual fair in the Exhibition Hall and were untroubled by uncertainties of weather. Recently, the Board of Trustees leased sixteen acres adjacent to the building to this group. The Boy Scouts served 1,500 guests at their annual recognition dinner in the Coliseum. During the Christmas season, the Christ Child Festival is held there. Now the regional high school basketball tournaments can be held in Fort Wayne.
An important benefit arises from the major sports events and appearances of famous entertainers. The stars of stage and screen and of the world of sports bring many visitors to Fort Wayne; increased business results for the merchants and the hotel and restaurant owners. Sports announcers and reviewers give much favorable publicity to Fort Wayne because of our fine Coliseum. Thus, the Coliseum, besides honoring the war dead of the community, is a great asset to the citizens of the community. The building admirably fulfills the dual role of a “living memorial.”
Otto H. Adams