Photo by: Bob Leverone
LJVM Coliseum's Opening Dawned New Era for Wake Forest and Winston-Salem
12/6/2019 4:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Les Johns
The situation for Wake Forest became desperate, as Memorial Coliseum continued to decay and two coliseum bond referenda failed to pass by Winston-Salem voters. Wake athletic director Gene Hooks moved the majority of home ACC basketball games to the Greensboro Coliseum, further illuminating the need for action.
A 1984 coliseum study formulated a plan based on what had worked in other communities, a coalition was built, another ballot initiative was spawned, and then ultimately passed in overwhelming fashion, leading to the construction of the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The LJVM Coliseum grand opening took place on Sept. 3, 1989 and Wake Forest Athletics is proudly celebrating the 30th anniversary of the facility throughout this entire season.
Wake had played at Memorial Coliseum from 1956-89, with many ACC home games becoming displaced to Greensboro starting in the 1981-82 season. The Demon Deacons were 250-94 in the 8,200 capacity building that was eventually leveled for some of the current parking adjacent to LJVM Coliseum.
According to Robert Eggleston, who served on the coliseum commission, the construction of Memorial Coliseum had to wait until the end of World War II.
"Then money was short," he explained. "So they built what they could. It was pretty spartan."
That eventually led to concerns both in terms of aesthetics and safety. Late in its existence, the Coliseum became an albatross around the neck of Wake Forest coaches hoping to lure ACC-caliber recruits to compete in Winston-Salem.
"We weren't competitive because we didn't have competitive facilities," Hooks said.
Because Wake Forest shared the facility with Winston-Salem Polar Twins and Carolina/Winston-Salem Thunderbirds hockey teams, condensation would often develop on the floor leading to delays. In a contest against NC State on Dec. 11, 1966, a transformer caught fire leading to a power outage. The game resumed on February 23 the following year, thus becoming the longest game in ACC history.
"We did it out of desperation," Hooks said about moving ACC games to Greensboro.
That move was an eye opener for Winston-Salem natives.
"It was effective in drawing attention to the old building being inadequate and that we needed a new facility," executive director of the Deacon Club Cook Griffin said.
The 1984 study led to the Winston-Salem City Council and Mayor Wayne Corpening agreeing in February 1985 to have a bond referendum which was set for June 25, 1985. Similar measures had failed in both 1976 and 1979.
"It's three strikes and we're out," Eggleston said. "The city will not be in the coliseum business if we don't pass this bond referendum."
Eggleston co-chaired the bond referendum promotions committee for the city. He said they hit as many Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club and Optimist Club meetings as they could during those four months to drum up as much ground-level support for the measure as possible.
"We tried to pitch the story that we shouldn't have to drive to Greensboro to see major events," Eggleston said. "We spoke everywhere we could go. It was fun for me, and gave me my first chance to spread my wings and do something in the community."
One of the biggest differences with the third measure is that it involved a private-public partnership that is rare — Wake Forest was willing to come up with $5 million of the $25 million needed for the venture, and would commit to being a primary paying tenant for the proposed facility.
"We agreed to share the expenses of the new coliseum, although we weren't sharing in ownership," Hooks said. "I guess that was a key to it. We had skin in the game, but we weren't asking for a whole lot.
"There was a helluva need. The armory was just awful. People who had been there understood the problem and how difficult it was. There were so many horror stories. It was difficult to get good athletes to come. That would chase them off."
Bucky Dame, who ended up becoming Coliseum Director and had worked with the city of Winston-Salem since 1982, said there was buy-in across the entire community, and that was due, in part, to the direct commitment from Wake Forest.
"He saw a vision and moved it forward," Dame said about Hooks. "He was instrumental in getting the university involved, and that's what sold it. Wake Forest was going to be a major tenant, but was also part of it financially. They were the number one tenant."
City Council member Bob Northington believed attitudes surrounding the issue had changed significantly between the failure of the 1979 ballot initiative and the one set for June of 1985.
"People began to realize we needed a facility that was of the quality of our competition in Greensboro and even Charlotte," he said. "We had the opportunity to have great events, but the old facility was in poor condition and therefore wasn't able to be utilized the way it should."
The proposal passed by a nearly 4-to-1 margin — 12,798 to 3,404.
"We were sweating bullets," Eggleston said. "We were working just like any campaign. You don't know what the results will be, so you just kill yourself with effort. We didn't have any feel for it. Nobody was doing any polling or anything else."
There was an initial sense of pride in the Winston-Salem community for coming together to build the LJVM Coliseum that still exists to this day.
"The new coliseum, at the time, I thought was indicative of the citizens of Winston-Salem saying that they want better than just old, worn-out stuff," Northington said. "A lot of things happened in the community as a result of the enthusiasm of the coliseum being built."
The facility opened with a bang, featuring concerts by Dionne Warwick, LL Cool J and Alabama — who featured then little-known Garth Brooks as an opening act. Brooks returned to LJVM Coliseum nine years later and sold the venue out for four nights in a row.
The Coliseum has been home to WCW Wrestling pay-per-view events, numerous concerts and the Davis Cup. Winston-Salem has now hosted early rounds of the NCAA four times, including the historic moment in 1997 when North Carolina coach Dean Smith surpassed Kentucky's Adolph Rupp for the most coaching wins in NCAA history.
It's obviously also been host for Wake Forest men's and women's basketball, with Dave Odom taking over the reigns of the men's basketball program just in time for the LJVM Coliseum opening in 1989. That combination led the Demon Deacons to starting their greatest continued run of success, reaching the NCAA Tournament for 12-of-15 years beginning in 1991.
"There's a parallel with the new facility and Dave Odom coming in that propelled our basketball program to the upper tier of the ACC," Deacon Club president (1994-96) John Lambert said.
A 1984 coliseum study formulated a plan based on what had worked in other communities, a coalition was built, another ballot initiative was spawned, and then ultimately passed in overwhelming fashion, leading to the construction of the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The LJVM Coliseum grand opening took place on Sept. 3, 1989 and Wake Forest Athletics is proudly celebrating the 30th anniversary of the facility throughout this entire season.
Wake had played at Memorial Coliseum from 1956-89, with many ACC home games becoming displaced to Greensboro starting in the 1981-82 season. The Demon Deacons were 250-94 in the 8,200 capacity building that was eventually leveled for some of the current parking adjacent to LJVM Coliseum.
According to Robert Eggleston, who served on the coliseum commission, the construction of Memorial Coliseum had to wait until the end of World War II.
"Then money was short," he explained. "So they built what they could. It was pretty spartan."
That eventually led to concerns both in terms of aesthetics and safety. Late in its existence, the Coliseum became an albatross around the neck of Wake Forest coaches hoping to lure ACC-caliber recruits to compete in Winston-Salem.
"We weren't competitive because we didn't have competitive facilities," Hooks said.
Because Wake Forest shared the facility with Winston-Salem Polar Twins and Carolina/Winston-Salem Thunderbirds hockey teams, condensation would often develop on the floor leading to delays. In a contest against NC State on Dec. 11, 1966, a transformer caught fire leading to a power outage. The game resumed on February 23 the following year, thus becoming the longest game in ACC history.
"We did it out of desperation," Hooks said about moving ACC games to Greensboro.
That move was an eye opener for Winston-Salem natives.
"It was effective in drawing attention to the old building being inadequate and that we needed a new facility," executive director of the Deacon Club Cook Griffin said.
The 1984 study led to the Winston-Salem City Council and Mayor Wayne Corpening agreeing in February 1985 to have a bond referendum which was set for June 25, 1985. Similar measures had failed in both 1976 and 1979.
"It's three strikes and we're out," Eggleston said. "The city will not be in the coliseum business if we don't pass this bond referendum."
Eggleston co-chaired the bond referendum promotions committee for the city. He said they hit as many Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club and Optimist Club meetings as they could during those four months to drum up as much ground-level support for the measure as possible.
"We tried to pitch the story that we shouldn't have to drive to Greensboro to see major events," Eggleston said. "We spoke everywhere we could go. It was fun for me, and gave me my first chance to spread my wings and do something in the community."
One of the biggest differences with the third measure is that it involved a private-public partnership that is rare — Wake Forest was willing to come up with $5 million of the $25 million needed for the venture, and would commit to being a primary paying tenant for the proposed facility.
"We agreed to share the expenses of the new coliseum, although we weren't sharing in ownership," Hooks said. "I guess that was a key to it. We had skin in the game, but we weren't asking for a whole lot.
"There was a helluva need. The armory was just awful. People who had been there understood the problem and how difficult it was. There were so many horror stories. It was difficult to get good athletes to come. That would chase them off."
Bucky Dame, who ended up becoming Coliseum Director and had worked with the city of Winston-Salem since 1982, said there was buy-in across the entire community, and that was due, in part, to the direct commitment from Wake Forest.
"He saw a vision and moved it forward," Dame said about Hooks. "He was instrumental in getting the university involved, and that's what sold it. Wake Forest was going to be a major tenant, but was also part of it financially. They were the number one tenant."
City Council member Bob Northington believed attitudes surrounding the issue had changed significantly between the failure of the 1979 ballot initiative and the one set for June of 1985.
"People began to realize we needed a facility that was of the quality of our competition in Greensboro and even Charlotte," he said. "We had the opportunity to have great events, but the old facility was in poor condition and therefore wasn't able to be utilized the way it should."
The proposal passed by a nearly 4-to-1 margin — 12,798 to 3,404.
"We were sweating bullets," Eggleston said. "We were working just like any campaign. You don't know what the results will be, so you just kill yourself with effort. We didn't have any feel for it. Nobody was doing any polling or anything else."
There was an initial sense of pride in the Winston-Salem community for coming together to build the LJVM Coliseum that still exists to this day.
"The new coliseum, at the time, I thought was indicative of the citizens of Winston-Salem saying that they want better than just old, worn-out stuff," Northington said. "A lot of things happened in the community as a result of the enthusiasm of the coliseum being built."
The facility opened with a bang, featuring concerts by Dionne Warwick, LL Cool J and Alabama — who featured then little-known Garth Brooks as an opening act. Brooks returned to LJVM Coliseum nine years later and sold the venue out for four nights in a row.
The Coliseum has been home to WCW Wrestling pay-per-view events, numerous concerts and the Davis Cup. Winston-Salem has now hosted early rounds of the NCAA four times, including the historic moment in 1997 when North Carolina coach Dean Smith surpassed Kentucky's Adolph Rupp for the most coaching wins in NCAA history.
It's obviously also been host for Wake Forest men's and women's basketball, with Dave Odom taking over the reigns of the men's basketball program just in time for the LJVM Coliseum opening in 1989. That combination led the Demon Deacons to starting their greatest continued run of success, reaching the NCAA Tournament for 12-of-15 years beginning in 1991.
"There's a parallel with the new facility and Dave Odom coming in that propelled our basketball program to the upper tier of the ACC," Deacon Club president (1994-96) John Lambert said.
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