When filled for basketball as il is in this picture, the William Neal
Reynolds Coliseum holds over 12,000 spectators.
Coliseum
If you hsiv«*it’l see» < lie»
new Will him iV'eal Ite.vn-
oM.s Coliseiini al Stale
College in ltalei£li. you
have a treat in store.
IT S been a long time since the
Romans built the first coliseum
'way back in 60 A.D., but those
who have seen the new William
Neal Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh
will probably bet you it will be just
as long before anyone builds an edi¬
fice in this part of the country sur¬
passing the newest member to a
1900-year-old family.
Located on the campus of State
College, the new Coliseum was
erected at a cost of some $2,500,-
000. which represents a combina¬
tion of state funds and gifts from
private individuals. But from the
looks of the building, everyone in¬
volved will certainly get their
money’s worth.
The question, it seems, is not
what the building can do. but what
it can’t do. Complete with the very
latest in equipment, the Coliseum
could present within a month's
time a livestock show, a major ad¬
dress. a basketball game, an ice
hockey game or an ice show, a
circus, a dance, a machinery expo¬
sition. a 4-H convention, a tennis
match and a roller skate derby.
Wait a few months until a portable
stage is added to the arena, and
you can have a symphony orches¬
tra or grand opera in addition.
The history of the Reynolds
Coliseum dates back to 1943. when
the building was begun, but due to
wartime conditions, progress was
stopped after the steel framework
had been completed. Mrs. Charles
Babcock, niece of William Neal
Reynolds, the Winston-Salem to¬
bacco man for whom the building
was named, made the first contri¬
bution toward the erection of th
Coliseum in 1943 and that started
the ball rolling.
At the conclusion of the war the
drive to complete the building be¬
gan to gain impetus, and through
the endless efforts of such leaders
as Dave Clark, the Charlotte pub¬
lisher. the state appropriated the
remaining funds necessary to fin¬
ish the structure. The first even'
was staged in the building last
December 2. a basketball game be¬
tween State College and Washing¬
ton and Lee.
But through the winter the
building continued to receive its
finishing touches and will reach its
final stage of completion this com¬
ing week for the ice attraction at
which time the building will bi¬
ded ica ted.
According to Wilmer Z. Betts,
manager of the Coliseum, there is
no real limit to the potentialities
of the building and the manner in
which it can promote educational,
professional and cultural affairs in
North Carolina in addition to pre¬
senting sports attractions and en¬
tertainments.
Interested in dimensions? Well,
the mammoth building is 371 feet
long by 180 feet wide, bigger than
a regulation football field. The ac¬
tual arena floor is 312 by 108 feet
and upon this arena floor is the
beginning of each and every Coli¬
seum attraction. It is constructed
in five layers, with concrete at the
base, topped by two layers of rock
wool insulation, a thin strip of zinc
and another layer of concrete on
top. But for the beating it will
take, it’s a wonder that's enough
Want to have a livestock show
or Ringling Brothers or any other
affair requiring a dirt and sawdust
floor? All you do is drive the truck-
loads of dirt right onto the main
floor and keep hauling until there
is enough soil to cover the entire
floor surface for a depth of five
inches. When the show is over and
the dirt must be removed, you
merely open the two dirt chutes
provided in the floor, drive the
trucks into the basement beneath
the chutes and shovel the dirt
down into the trucks.
Speaking of the circus, if you are
worried about getting the ele¬
phants into the building, don't. The
builders thought about this prob¬
lem long ago and after obtaining
the dimensions of the largest ele-
( Continued on pa$e 17)
An exterior view of the William Neal Reynolds Coliseum gives some¬
thing of an idea of the mammoth size of the new building.
THE STATE. APRIL 15. 1950
1 o
