Should the Carolina Coliseum be razed?

[Spartan]

Should the Coliseum be razed to make way for an expansion of the USC research campus?

I think it should. It isn't used very mcuh except for high school graduations, the Inferno games, and the School of Journalism. I have heard the SOJ may get its own building though

Others have mentioned a sentemental attachment as a reason to keep it. I can't agree with that reason alone for this particular structure.

[krazeeboi]

I had to vote "I don't know" on this one.

It's interesting, because I think Charlotte is facing the same problem with the original Coliseum on Independence once the new uptown arena will be built. I believe their minor league hockey team will no longer be playing at the original Coliseum (Cricket Arena), but at the new arena once built. But in Charlotte's case, the Coliseum has more historical significance. I believe it was the largest of its kind when it was built.

[The_sandlapper]

I say bring it down now before to much is built around it and it becomes a potential problem for future developments. If not then it should be converted into something useful, but I can't think of what at the time?

[krazeeboi]

I know that the Colonial Center may be considered for research campus-related activities. Perhaps the Coliseum could be considered instead, or maybe both?

[waccamatt]

Carolina Coliseum has alot of history for USC basketball fans and it should be used in its current capacity. The Columbia Inferno is a viable enterprise and they are using it.

[Spartan]

I know that the Colonial Center may be considered for research campus-related activities. Perhaps the Coliseum could be considered instead, or maybe both?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The Colonial Center is brand new. I don't think they will tear it down, if that is what you mean.

Carolina Coliseum has alot of history for USC basketball fans and it should be used in its current capacity. The Columbia Inferno is a viable enterprise and they are using it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Does the Inferno draw a decent crowd?

[krazeeboi]

No, I'm not speaking of razing the Colonial Center, goodness it's not even quite 5 years old yet (or barely that age). But one of the articles in The State about the research campus said that it was possible that the space that the Colonial Center provides could be used for research, or as someone said, "All it does it sit empty most of the time."

[Mr.Marc]

The Coliseum is also home to the School of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management.

[Doug L]

It would be a sin and a travesty to raze the Coliseum!

The two squares that the Coliseum consumes should be turned over to the City of Columbia. It could then be upgraded. By creating a new playing floor above the current one the playing floor size would be increased thereby making the floor size large enough for a legal size hockey rink, indoor football, indoor soccer. and pro basketball. At the same time the seating capacity would be reduced to a more manageable number. And also the space below the new playing floor and other spaces within the building could be well used by our new and very active convention center as display space and/or meeting rooms and spaces.

I know USC despises the very thought of pro sports in Columbia; but the time I do believe is ripe.

Also, I recently attempted to obtain meeting space in the convention center for a series of nightly meetings starting September 30, for a period of six weeks. The answer was "sorry, but we are booked".

What do you think of that as a plan?

[waccamatt]

The Colonial Center is brand new. I don't think they will tear it down, if that is what you mean.

Does the Inferno draw a decent crowd?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The Inferno is one of the better drawing minor league hockey teams in their league.

[Mr.Marc]

It would be a sin and a travesty to raze the Coliseum!

The two squares that the Coliseum consumes should be turned over to the City of Columbia.  It could then be upgraded.  By creating a new playing floor above the current one the playing floor size would be increased thereby making the floor size large enough for a legal size hockey rink, indoor football, indoor soccer. and pro basketball.  At the same time the seating capacity would be reduced to a more manageable number.  And also the space below the new playing floor and other spaces within the building could be well used by our new and very active convention center as display space and/or meeting rooms and spaces.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If the seating capacity is reduced it probably wouldn't warrant a Pro-basketball team. I want Columbia or someone in SC to have a pro-basketball team (or any other kind of pro sports team), but I believe if Columbia ever has a pro-basketball team it's home will not be the Coliseum.

Also, sorry to get off subject but I think if Columbia gets a professional sports team it will more than likely be baseball.

[Spartan]

No, I'm not speaking of razing the Colonial Center, goodness it's not even quite 5 years old yet (or barely that age). But one of the articles in The State about the research campus said that it was possible that the space that the Colonial Center provides could be used for research, or as someone said, "All it does it sit empty most of the time."

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It opened in 2002 I believe. If they were to do that, then they would also need to remove the baseball stadium plans as well, which could be a fair arguement.

It would be a sin and a travesty to raze the Coliseum!

The two squares that the Coliseum consumes should be turned over to the City of Columbia.  It could then be upgraded.  By creating a new playing floor above the current one the playing floor size would be increased thereby making the floor size large enough for a legal size hockey rink, indoor football, indoor soccer. and pro basketball.  At the same time the seating capacity would be reduced to a more manageable number.  And also the space below the new playing floor and other spaces within the building could be well used by our new and very active convention center as display space and/or meeting rooms and spaces.

I know USC despises the very thought of pro sports in Columbia; but the time I do believe is ripe.

Also, I recently attempted to obtain meeting space in the convention center for a series of nightly meetings starting September 30, for a period of six weeks.  The answer was "sorry, but we are booked".

What do you think of that as a plan?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The seating capactiy is rather low as it is. I think reducing it would only hurt the coliseum. I do like the idea of have a larger ground area to work with though.

The Inferno is one of the better drawing minor league hockey teams in their league.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That is great! I had no idea

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Let me explain myself some. I see several key differences in the Coliseum and the Colonial Center. As you may or may not know by now, I am a big fan to pedestrian scale structures and activities. I consider it an obvious statement to say that a building that caters to people, and not cars, will fit into the urban fabric of Columbia better.

Take the Coliseum. What is the first thing you see when you drive by it? A friendly sign? Nope. A fence. A wrought iron fence. Now, to get to the building itself, you can use one of two moderately inconvenient driveways on either end of the site- if you are driving of course. Now to walk there is an experience in itself. The tunnel under Assembly St is one of its best pedestrian features. But say you're from out of town, and don't know about that? You could walk down Assembly, but in my mind, that would be scary. You are about 2-3 feet from traffic going anywhere from 0-45 mph, and there is no escaping it. You can't just hop the fence. You must find the break in the fence to get into the "oasis." Park St is not any better. The main entrances do not face the parking lot, so you have to go up the narrow staircase to the main entrance. I can go on and on about this- but I think I have made my point. This is just not acceptable to me. The Coliseum was built at a time when suburbanity was the mindset, which is fine. It was a great thing for many years, and it served the public well. Even the building's functionality is a legitimate debate, but I think the practicality of the structure with regards to the future of an urban Columbia is quite clear.

Now take the Colonial Center. It has no such suburban flaws, and it fits into the area better. The entrace is not confined to one or two sides, but 3 corners, which makes accessing the building by foot much easier from any direction. The sidewalks are not much better there, but being built away from Assembly St gives it an advantage.

I do agree, and I have said it before, that all of these buidings: The Carolina Colisuem, the Colonial Center, and the yet-to-be-built USC ballpark, have the flaw of being dead space and not used most of the time. So in my mind, the issue is not so much, "how much is it used?" -but "how can it be used?" The Colonial Center is a more modern facility. It had the capability and capacity to hold major entertainment events like Garth Brooks, Jimmy Buffett, Brintey Spears, etc, as well as sporting events and all of the other stuff that you know goes on there. They say the USC ballpark will be able to be used for concerts and other entertainment as well.

While the Coliseum's usefulness may not yet be over, I think its time will come soon. The history is very important, but I believe we should not save all history for the sake of history.

That said, if the building can be remodeled and outfitted for better a pederstian scale, then I may not be so opposed to keeping it.

[waccamatt]

Also, sorry to get off subject but I think if Columbia gets a professional sports team it will more than likely be baseball.

Columbia already has a professional team: The Columbia Inferno.

Spartan, you make good points about the Coliseum, but I have too much sentimental attachment to it to see it razed: It was the scene of USC's 23 point second-half comeback against Cincinnati in 1998 when Antonio Grant hit the game-winning 3 at the buzzer. It is the place where USC beat Kentucky in overtime the season before to put us in the driver's seat for winning the SEC Championship. It was USC's home the season we won the ACC regular Season Championship and went undefeated in the ACC. Alex English, John Roche, Tom Owens, Mike Dunleavy, Melvin Watson, Bj McKie, Joe Rhett, Jo Jo English and Carlos Powell all played there and, last but not least, Frank McGuire coached there. No way should it be razed.

[krazeeboi]

If the seating capacity is reduced it probably wouldn't warrant a Pro-basketball team. I want Columbia or someone in SC to have a pro-basketball team (or any other kind of pro sports team), but I believe if Columbia ever has a pro-basketball team it's home will not be the Coliseum.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Charleston or Greenville will get pro-basketball way before Columbia, IMO (I think Greenville had an NBDL [NBA minor-league] team at one point). No way will USC share the Colonial Center with a pro team, and the city is not about to build ANOTHER new arena for a pro team. Maybe a couple of decades into the future, but not in the foreseeable future.

And as far as seating capacities go, the Coliseum seats 12,000 compared to 18,000 (33% more) than the Colonial Center.

Spartan, good points. How could the situation be rectified without actually demolishing the Coliseum?

[Spartan]

Also, sorry to get off subject but I think if Columbia gets a professional sports team it will more than likely be baseball.

Columbia already has a professional team: The Columbia Inferno.

Spartan, you make good points about the Coliseum, but I have too much sentimental attachment to it to see it razed: It was the scene of USC's 23 point second-half comeback against Cincinnati in 1998 when Antonio Grant hit the game-winning 3 at the buzzer. It is the place where USC beat Kentucky in overtime the season before to put us in the driver's seat for winning the SEC Championship. It was USC's home the season we won the ACC regular Season Championship and went undefeated in the ACC. Alex English, John Roche, Tom Owens, Mike Dunleavy, Melvin Watson, Bj McKie, Joe Rhett, Jo Jo English and Carlos Powell all played there and, last but not least, Frank McGuire coached there. No way should it be razed.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sometimes you have to be heartless

Spartan, good points. How could the situation be rectified without actually demolishing the Coliseum?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

As I said before, a refurbishment could do wonders. They could do some of the following:

1. Remove the fence & shrubs that bound the property
   
2. Rework the exterior landscaping to fit with the surrounding streets
   
3. Remove the entrance facing Blossom St.
   
4. Use part of the Blossom St Parking lot for a reserach campus facility
   
5. The Greene St Lot must go. Maybe a plaza for mingling and ticket lines. Benches galore. Keep the trees though.
   
6. A very wide pedestrian bridge to the parking lots west of Park St.
   
7. Focusing on the Assembly & Greene street corner with some sort of art. Maybe by some students, Blue Sky- who is already pretty well known around town.
   
8. The exterior is just ugly to me. Its a very bland structure. But I have no idea how to improve it.
   
9. The interior just needs a standard rennovation, but its not that bad.
   

The key thing is pedestrian access from Greene and Assembly Streets. I know the tunnel causes some issues, but that can't be helped.

[vicupstate]

I do agree, and I have said it before, that all of these buidings: The Carolina Colisuem, the Colonial Center, and the yet-to-be-built USC ballpark, have the flaw of being dead space and not used most of the time. So in my mind, the issue is not so much, "how much is it used?" -but "how can it be used?"

They say the USC ballpark will be able to be used for concerts and other entertainment as well.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is precise why Charleston's Ballpark is SHARED between a college team (Citadel), a pro team (Riverdogs) as well as concerts and other events. Too bad USC couldn't see past itself to do the same. Now they will have a suburban competitor facility. Even if no tax money is involved to speak of (by some miracle), it is still wasteful and undermines downtown redevelopment.

[Spartan]

This is precise why Charleston's Ballpark is SHARED between a college team (Citadel), a pro team (Riverdogs) as well as concerts and other events.  Too bad USC couldn't see past itself to do the same.  Now they will have a suburban competitor facility.  Even if no tax money is involved to speak of (by some miracle), it is still wasteful and undermines downtown redevelopment.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That, and there is no point in unnecessary redundancy. Efficiency = good.

[krazeeboi]

This is precise why Charleston's Ballpark is SHARED between a college team (Citadel), a pro team (Riverdogs) as well as concerts and other events.  Too bad USC couldn't see past itself to do the same.  Now they will have a suburban competitor facility.  Even if no tax money is involved to speak of (by some miracle), it is still wasteful and undermines downtown redevelopment.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I second that. A minor league team out on the fringes of town is a preposterous idea, if you ask me.

[HomerJayS]

Hi this is my first post on this forum and I hope I do not speak out of turn but I have read this thread and would like to put in my two cents on some comments.

This is precise why Charleston's Ballpark is SHARED between a college team (Citadel), a pro team (Riverdogs) as well as concerts and other events. Too bad USC couldn't see past itself to do the same. Now they will have a suburban competitor facility. Even if no tax money is involved to speak of (by some miracle), it is still wasteful and undermines downtown redevelopment.

Well USC had a lot more to lose than gain out of a partnership with the bumblers (ooops I mean Bombers ) The Bombers basically wanted USC to flip the bill for their ballpark. The numbers I can remember from this "deal" is that USC was going to put up 10 or 11 million the city was going to put up 2 or three million and the Bombers were going to put up 2 million and the City would basically "control" who what type of events could be held at the stadium. In other words this was a bad/horrible deal for USC from the begining, which was the main reason USC decided to build their own ball park. One of the reasons the bumblers (sorry did it again) gave for not being able to contribute more money to the project was that they didn't have the money. Ironically enough the Bombers moved to Greenville and promised to build a brand new 12 to 15 million dollar park. Besides the proposed location (on the corner of Blossom and Huger) of the ballpark was absolutely horrible in regards to USC. The location of the new USC ballpark (behind the Colonial center) will not only be a welcome site to longtime USC baseball fans but also a goldmine for Vista merchants and resturants IMHO.

_______________________

I do agree, and I have said it before, that all of these buidings: The Carolina Colisuem, the Colonial Center, and the yet-to-be-built USC ballpark, have the flaw of being dead space and not used most of the time.

I have read recently that they are thinking about retrofitting the new Colonial Center with retial shops and maybe a resturant or two on the bottom floor so that the building does not sit vacant when there is not a basketball game going on. Don't know how they would do this but the idea is being considered since it will be almost in the heart of the RC USC is building.

_______________________

As far as tearing down the Frank, unfortunately I think its time has passed. As an 91 USC Alum, I also have fond memories of the building but its really passed its prime. Spartan has it exactly right in my book. Besides that land is a PRIME piece of real estate for USC and the future Research Campus. My guess is in the next 5 to 10 years that building will be replaced by a USC RC building in the Horseshoe "style".

Thanks for letting me ramble.

[krazeeboi]

Welcome to the forum....good points.

I still say let the Coliseum stay.

[Spartan]

Hi this is my first post on this forum and I hope I do not speak out of turn but I have read this thread and would like to put in my two cents on some comments.   

Well USC had a lot more to lose than gain out of a partnership with the bumblers (ooops I mean Bombers ) The Bombers basically wanted USC to flip the bill for their ballpark. The numbers I can remember from this "deal" is that USC was going to put up 10 or 11 million the city was going to put up 2 or three million and the Bombers were going to put up 2 million and the City would basically "control" who what type of events could be held at the stadium. In other words this was a bad/horrible deal for USC from the begining, which was the main reason USC decided to build their own ball park. One of the reasons the bumblers (sorry did it again) gave for not being able to contribute more money to the project was that they didn't have the money. Ironically enough the Bombers moved to Greenville and promised to build a brand new 12 to 15 million dollar park.    Besides the proposed location (on the corner of Blossom and Huger)  of the ballpark was absolutely horrible in regards to USC. The location of the  new USC ballpark (behind the Colonial center)  will not only be a welcome site to longtime USC baseball fans but also a goldmine for Vista merchants and resturants IMHO.

_______________________

I have read recently that they are thinking about retrofitting the new Colonial Center with retial shops and maybe a resturant or two on the bottom floor so that the building does not sit vacant when there is not a basketball game going on. Don't know how they would do this but the idea is being considered since it will be almost in the heart of the RC USC is building.           

_______________________

As far as tearing down the Frank, unfortunately I think its time has passed. As an 91 USC Alum, I also have fond memories of the building but its really passed its prime. Spartan has it exactly right in my book. Besides that land is a PRIME piece of real estate for USC and the future Research Campus. My guess is in the next 5 to 10 years that building will be replaced by a USC RC building in the Horseshoe "style".

Thanks for letting me ramble. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Welcome to the forum! Feel free to share your thoughts on any subject at any time, not matter how old.

Where did you hear about retrofitting the Colonial Center? This is intriguing to me.

[krazeeboi]

Looks like we're not the only ones who are undecided about what to do with the Coliseum.

There's a cool rendering on the webpage. I wonder why it wasn't in the master plan document?

[BrasilnSC]

^ Although not complete, I like that plan. I don't want to see the Coliseum go.

[waccamatt]

With $85 million they could build a 500,000 square foot, 40 story office building!

[krazeeboi]

Yeah, but then they would have to leave the Coliseum to rot. Wish there was a way both could happen.