Reunion Arena

Reunion Arena

Location	777 Sports Street Dallas, Texas 75207 U.S.
Coordinates	32°46′22″N 96°48′29″W / 32.77278°N 96.80806°WCoordinates: 32°46′22″N 96°48′29″W / 32.77278°N 96.80806°W
Owner	City of Dallas
Operator	City of Dallas
Capacity	Basketball: 17,772 (1980–1981), 17,134 (1981–1983), 17,007 (1983–1991), 17,502 (1991–1996), 18,042 (1996–1998), 18,121 (1998–1999), 18,187 (1999–2008) Ice hockey: 16,500 (1980–1991), 16,914 (1991–1995), 16,924 (1995–1997), 16,928 (1997–1999), 17,001 (1999–2008) Indoor Soccer: 16,626 Concerts: End Stage: 18,628 Center Stage: 19,071 Half House: 9,663
Construction
Broke ground	March 15, 1978[1]
Opened	April 28, 1980[2]
Closed	June 30, 2008
Demolished	November 17, 2009
Construction cost	$27 million ($77.5 million in 2016 dollars[3])
Architect	Harwood K. Smith & Partners, Inc.
Structural engineer	Paul Gugliotta Consulting Engineers, Inc.[4]
General contractor	Henry C. Beck Co.[5]
Tenants
Dallas Mavericks (NBA) (1984–2001) Dallas Tornado (NASL indoor) (1980–1981) Dallas Sidekicks (MISL) (1984–2004) Dallas Texans (AFL) (1990–1993) Dallas Stars (NHL) (1993–2001) Dallas Stallions (RHI) (1999) Dallas Desperados (AFL) (2003)

Reunion Arena was an indoor arena located in the Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena served as the primary home of the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks and the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars. Its capacity held accommodations for 18,187 basketball and 17,001 for ice hockey spectators.

Reunion Arena was demolished in November 2009 and the site was cleared by the end of the year.^[6][7]

History

Reunion Arena was completed in 1980 at a cost of US$27 million.^[8] It was named for the early mid-19th century commune, La Reunion. Reunion Arena was notable for two lasts: it was the last NBA or NHL arena to be built without luxury suites, and it was the last NHL arena to still use an American Sign and Indicator scoreboard (though not the last in the NBA—see Charlotte Coliseum). The color matrix messageboards on that scoreboard were replaced in 1991 with Sony Jumbotron video screens.

Reunion Arena also hosted the WCT Tennis Tournament in the 1980s, including Virginia Slims Invitational Tournament. Due to scheduling conflicts in 1984, the WCT Tennis Tournament forced the Dallas Mavericks to play Game 5 of their first ever playoff series at Moody Coliseum, against the Seattle SuperSonics. While Southern Methodist University competed in the Southwest Conference, Reunion Arena was known by University of Arkansas Razorbacks fans, as Barnhill South, due to the big following by the Arkansas fans away from home; the Barnhill Arena was the home to all UA games until 1993. Reunion Arena hosted the Southwest Conference's basketball tournament in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as the 1986 NCAA Final Four.

In 1994, U.S. President Bill Clinton visited the arena to watch the University of Arkansas basketball team play in the NCAA Tournament.

In late 2005, the arena and the Dallas Convention Center were used as the primary Dallas shelters for evacuees of Hurricane Katrina.

Events

The arena featured 30,000 ft² (2,790 m²) of floor space and had great sightlines, making it ideal for a number of events and games, including many high school graduations. While the first concert at Reunion was billed as The Who on July 2, 1980, May 9, 1980 was the first time a musical act performed at Reunion. P-Funk performed touring with SHOWCO sound and lights. Two other concerts played there in late June: Foghat and Pat Travers on June 25, 1980; and Ted Nugent, Scorpions, and Def Leppard on June 26, 1980. The rock band Journey played three consecutive shows at the arena in July 1983, and again in December 1986. Van Halen played three shows in June 1984, Judas Priest played June 27, 1986 recording the entire show which parts can be found on the Priest...Live! album. A full concert DVD was released as well. Pink Floyd played three consecutive shows at Reunion in November 1987, and Guns N' Roses played a show in December 1987. Pop songstress Whitney Houston played two sold-out concerts at Reunion in September 1987. The video for the Scorpions' song "Still Loving You" was filmed there, and in 1985 Mötley Crüe shot the video of the song "Home Sweet Home" there as well.

Country music superstar Garth Brooks filmed his first television special, This Is Garth Brooks, in the arena during two sold-out concerts in September 1991. The concert became noteworthy after Brooks and guitarist Ty England took two guitars together and smashed them on stage. Another country music star, Shania Twain, once performed her Come on Over Tour in the arena on September 12, 1998 and was filmed in her first DVD released Shania Twain Live.

Reunion was also a venue that was frequently used by World Class Championship Wrestling in the 1980s, in which the organization held many, if not all of its bi-monthly Star Wars events.

Home teams

The arena was the home of the Dallas Mavericks from 1980 to 2001 and the Dallas Stars from 1993 to 2001. Both teams moved to the American Airlines Center in 2001. The Dallas Desperados Arena Football team used the arena for its 2003 season but ultimately returned to American Airlines Center.

The arena's last remaining full-time sports tenant was the MISL Dallas Sidekicks, but the club was inactive after the fall of 2004.

Closure and demolition

Reunion Arena, late October 2009

After a unanimous vote by the Dallas City Council, Reunion Arena officially closed on June 30, 2008. In August 2008, the council said it would implode the arena if it could find an entity willing to foot the bill. The council hoped for the implosion to be part of a movie scene with the film company picking up the tab for the implosion. When no filmmaker seemed interested, the city decided to demolish it using other methods, a process which took several months.^[9]

Demolition was officially completed on November 17, 2009 and the site was completely cleared by the end of the year. Post-demolition, the site has seen little use. In 2011, Prince was to perform as part of Super Bowl XLV-related festivities, but the show was canceled due to inclement weather. And in September 2012, Cirque du Soleil’s Koozå took place here. As of October 2013, the adjacent parking garage remained standing and there were no plans for construction on the site.

Notable events

• 1980: Foghat played the first concert to ever be held at the arena.
• 1980: Queen performed during The Game Tour on August 9; the music video for their hit song "Another One Bites the Dust" was recorded at the arena.^[10]
• 1982: Ozzy Osbourne performed, with guitar virtuoso Randy Rhoads, who was killed in a plane crash less than a month later.
• 1982: On November 25, singer Linda Ronstadt performed her famous Happy Thanksgiving Day concert, one of the first ever via satellite concerts, by a female solo artist, to be broadcast live on radio stations across the nation.^[11]
• 1982: On December 25 at Wrestling Star Wars, an angle was executed during the Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich cage match which led to the Von Erich family vs. Fabulous Freebird feud. Astronomical levels of business occurred for the World Class Championship Wrestling promotion during 1983 and 1984 as a result.
• 1983: The first wrestling sellout, of more than 17,000, was on June 17, headlined by Harley Race vs. Kevin Von Erich for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and Bruiser Brody and Kerry Von Erich vs. Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy (two-thirds of the Fabulous Freebirds). On November 13 and 14, The Police played two sold-out concerts as part of their Synchronicity Tour.
• 1984: Republican National Convention on August 20–23.
• 1984: Black Sabbath played there on their completely sold-out Born Again Tour with Deep Purple's Ian Gillan on vocals.
• 1984: Scorpions filmed their video for "Still Loving You".
• 1985: Phil Collins No Jacket Required Tour played here. Show was also filmed for video release.
• 1985: Mötley Crüe's Theatre of Pain Tour stopped here; they filmed their video for "Home Sweet Home".
• 1986: NCAA men's basketball Final Four and NBA All-Star Game.
• 1988: Michael Jackson performed three consecutive sold–out shows at Reunion Arena, during his Bad World Tour on April 25–27, 1988.
• 1989: 1989 MISL All-Star Game
• 1990: Madonna performed two sold-out shows from her Blond Ambition Tour on May 7 and 8.
• 1991: Garth Brooks tapes his first television special, This is Garth Brooks!, during two sold out concerts in September. The special airs on NBC in early 1992. It is released on VHS on June 16, 1992 and it is later included as part of the November 2006 DVD release, Garth Brooks - The Entertainer. The concert was notable for Brooks and Ty England smashing two acoustic guitars together.
• 1993: The first Dallas Stars hockey game was played against the Detroit Red Wings on October 5.
• 1997: Game 7 Edmonton vs Dallas. Edmonton won 4-3 in overtime.
• 1998: Shania Twain tapes her television special Shania Twain Live, on September 12, which is aired exclusively on DirecTV for free. The special was later released on DVD in November 1999. Three of her music videos were also taken from this performance.
• 1999: Benny Hinn Miracle Crusade
• 1999: Games 1, 2, and 5 of the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals were played.
• 2000: Games 3, 4, and 6 of the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals were played. However, the New Jersey Devils won the Stanley Cup, defeating the Dallas Stars in Game 6.
• 2000: WWF Fully Loaded.
• 2000: WCW Monday Nitro featuring a modified WarGames match called Russo's Revenge.
• 2003: Big 12 Conference Women's Post-season Basketball Tournament
• 2003: NCAA Women's Volleyball Division I Final Four
• 2004: Big 12 Conference Women's Post-season Basketball Tournament
• 2006: Big 12 Conference Women's Post-season Basketball Tournament
• 2007: NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Regional
• 2008: Reunion Arena closes.
• 2009: Reunion Arena is demolished.

See also

• List of tallest buildings in Dallas

References

1. "Dallas Would Welcome NBA Franchise". Odessa American. February 21, 1978. p. 14. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
2. "Reunion Arena". City of Dallas. 2006. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
3. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
4. "Arena Is at Foot of Reunion Tower in Dallas' New Convention Complex". Engineering News-Record (McGraw-Hill Companies) 203 (1–13): 24.
5. "April Up Front". D Magazine. April 1, 1979. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
6. Dallas City Council approved an extension by 84 days, to make the total number of days for demolition to 300. August 12, 2009 Council Minutes.
7. "Reunion Arena Comes Crashing Down". WFAA (Dallas). November 17, 2009. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
8. "Reunion Arena". Ballparks.com. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
9. Levinthal, Dave (August 19, 2008). "Hey filmmakers! Dallas Wants You to Blow Up Reunion Arena and Texas Stadium Both". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
10. 1980 The Game North American Tour Ultimate Queen. Retrieved September 1, 2011
11. "Linda Ronstadt's promo ad for live Dallas radio concert broadcast". Lindaronstadt.com. Retrieved November 4, 2007.

External links

• Reunion Arena Demolition Progress Photos
• Reunion Arena official site, archived from February 29, 2008