Colonial Center
Encyclopedia
The Colonial Life Arena is a multi-purpose arena
in Columbia, South Carolina
, primarily home to the University of South Carolina
men's and women's basketball
teams. Opened as a replacement for the Carolina Coliseum
with the name Carolina Center in 2002, the 18,000 seat arena is also host to various events like conferences, concert
s, and graduation
ceremonies throughout the year. It is the largest arena in the state of South Carolina
and the tenth largest college arena.
The naming rights were acquired in 2003 by Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company of Columbia, a subsidiary of Chattanooga, Tennessee
-based insurance company Unum, and it was renamed to the Colonial Center. On July 22, 2008, the USC board approved renaming the building to the Colonial Life Arena as part of a rebranding by Colonial Life.
The arena first opened on November 22, 2002 with the season opener of the South Carolina women's basketball team. A sell-out crowd of 17,712 fans saw the 72–58 Gamecock
s victory over in-state rival Clemson
, with a one-dollar admission charge, commonly used by the women's basketball team to promote major games. The official grand opening took place December 2, 2002. The men's basketball team defeated Temple
66–47.
The student section has been nicknamed "The Garnet Army
" which started with the arrival of head coach Darrin Horn in the 2008-2009 season.
Aside from Gamecock basketball, the Colonial Life Arena also hosts the South Carolina High School
Basketball Championships each year. The facility is built to also host ice hockey
games, but because of legal issues with the funding for the facility, has yet to host one.
The Colonial Life Arena was ranked 22nd in the world in ticket sales in 2003. It was also ranked the #1 arena in the Carolinas
and was the #2 rated university arena in the world in 2005, based on ticket sales for touring shows.
It is managed by Global Spectrum, whose Philadelphia 76ers
played an exhibition game in the venue in October 2005.
Ticketing is provided by New Era Tickets
, and tickets can be purchased through the Arena's web site.
, High School Musical: The Concert
, Sesame Street
, American Idol
s Live! & Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.
Artists that have performed at the arena include The Eagles, Cher
, Billy Joel
, Elton John
, Michael W. Smith
, Point of Grace
, Bruce Springsteen
& The E Street Band
, Prince
& The New Power Generation, Pearl Jam
, Shania Twain
, Britney Spears
, Rascal Flatts
, Def Leppard
, Journey
, Stoll Vaughan
, Aerosmith
, Cheap Trick
, Kings of Leon
, Jordan Pruitt
, Taylor Swift
, Carrie Underwood
, Sons of Sylvia, Craig Morgan, Miley Cyrus
and Metro Station
, among others.
The University of South Carolina holds most of its commencement exercises in the Colonial Life Arena. The first commencement speaker for ceremonies at the Colonial Center was President George W. Bush
in 2003.
On October 9, 2006, WWE
held an edition of Monday Night Raw in Columbia. The special 3-hour edition was entitled 'WWE Homecoming - Family Reunion.' The WWE's first visit came in November 2002, when the Colonial Life Arena played host to a taping of Smackdown. The WWE
has since returned to the arena for Monday Night Raw on March 24, 2008 and November 28, 2011.
In 2007, it was home to the Columbia Stingers
of the National Indoor Football League
.
On June 28, 2007, selected contestants from Dancing With The Stars
performed dances, as part of their summer tour.
On December 9, 2007, a rally for Barack Obama
was scheduled to be held at the arena. Because the rally also featured Oprah Winfrey
, tickets to the event sold out days before the rally. The rally was eventually moved to nearby Williams-Brice Stadium
.
The venue, like all Comcast-Spectator managed facilities, has its own ticketing policy, and therefore concerts are not controlled by the major ticketing-industry industry firms.
Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament games. However, shortly before construction began, the NCAA barred venues in South Carolina and Mississippi
from hosting such events due to protests from the NAACP. The NAACP and several other groups objected to the state hosting any NCAA-sanctioned tournament games due to the presence of a Confederate battle flag
flying near a soldiers' memorial on the South Carolina Statehouse grounds.
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
in Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
, primarily home to the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
men's and women's basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
teams. Opened as a replacement for the Carolina Coliseum
Carolina Coliseum
The Carolina Coliseum is a 12,401 seat multi-purpose arena in Columbia, South Carolina. It was the home of the University of South Carolina men's and women's basketball teams and Columbia's main events venue until 2002, when the Colonial Center, now Colonial Life Arena, opened...
with the name Carolina Center in 2002, the 18,000 seat arena is also host to various events like conferences, concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s, and graduation
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
ceremonies throughout the year. It is the largest arena in the state of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
and the tenth largest college arena.
The naming rights were acquired in 2003 by Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company of Columbia, a subsidiary of Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
-based insurance company Unum, and it was renamed to the Colonial Center. On July 22, 2008, the USC board approved renaming the building to the Colonial Life Arena as part of a rebranding by Colonial Life.
History and use
Gamecock
A gamecock or game fowl is a type of rooster with physical and behavioral traits suitable for cockfighting. Game fowl are more closely related to their wild cousins "jungle fowl"; a shy wild chicken from forests in South Central and Southeastern Asia...
s victory over in-state rival Clemson
Clemson University
Clemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....
, with a one-dollar admission charge, commonly used by the women's basketball team to promote major games. The official grand opening took place December 2, 2002. The men's basketball team defeated Temple
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
66–47.
The student section has been nicknamed "The Garnet Army
Garnet Army
The Garnet Army is the name of the student section for both men's and women's basketball games at the University of South Carolina's Colonial Life Arena....
" which started with the arrival of head coach Darrin Horn in the 2008-2009 season.
Aside from Gamecock basketball, the Colonial Life Arena also hosts the South Carolina High School
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
Basketball Championships each year. The facility is built to also host ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
games, but because of legal issues with the funding for the facility, has yet to host one.
The Colonial Life Arena was ranked 22nd in the world in ticket sales in 2003. It was also ranked the #1 arena in the Carolinas
The Carolinas
The Carolinas is a term used in the United States to refer collectively to the states of North and South Carolina. Together, the two states + have a population of 13,942,126. "Carolina" would be the fifth most populous state behind California, Texas, New York, and Florida...
and was the #2 rated university arena in the world in 2005, based on ticket sales for touring shows.
It is managed by Global Spectrum, whose Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
played an exhibition game in the venue in October 2005.
Ticketing is provided by New Era Tickets
New Era Tickets
New Era Tickets is an entertainment ticketing company located in Exton, Pennsylvania . The company provides full-service ticketing and fan marketing solutions for public assembly facilities, sports organizations, and entertainment companies....
, and tickets can be purchased through the Arena's web site.
Non-basketball events
Other events held at the Arena have included Disney on IceDisney on Ice
Disney On Ice is a touring ice show produced by Feld Entertainment under agreement with The Walt Disney Company. Aimed primarily at children, the shows feature figure skaters dressed as Disney cartoon characters in performances that each derive their music and plot from elements collected from...
, High School Musical: The Concert
High School Musical: The Concert
High School Musical: The Concert was a 40-city concert tour based on the popular hit Disney Channel Original Movie, High School Musical, sponsored by AEG Live and presented by Buena Vista Concerts...
, Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
, American Idol
Pop Idol
Pop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...
s Live! & Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.
Artists that have performed at the arena include The Eagles, Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
, Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
, Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, Michael W. Smith
Michael W. Smith
Michael Whitaker Smith is a Billboard top ten Billboard Hot 100 recording artist and Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. He is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in Contemporary Christian music. Smith also has achieved a considerable amount of...
, Point of Grace
Point of Grace
Point of Grace is an all-female Contemporary Christian music group. The trio consists of Shelley Breen, Denise Jones, and Leigh Cappillino. The group started out as a quartet in 1991, with original members Breen and Jones, as well as Terry Jones and Heather Payne...
, Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
& The E Street Band
E Street Band
The E Street Band has been rock musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Tom Morello, Sting, Ian...
, Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
& The New Power Generation, Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
, Shania Twain
Shania Twain
Shania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...
, Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
, Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts is an American country music band that originated in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. Since its inception, Rascal Flatts has been composed of three members: Gary LeVox , Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney...
, Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
, Journey
Journey (band)
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
, Stoll Vaughan
Stoll Vaughan
Stoll Vaughan is a singer-songwriter from Lexington, Kentucky. He is the great-nephew of United States Senator John Sherman Cooper. Vaughan began his professional music career as guitar player for the Indiana band Chamberlain. He was also a banjo and guitar player in the Rosalin Family Gospel Band...
, Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
, Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
, Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion, Oklahoma but formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Anthony Caleb Followill , Ivan Nathan Followill and Michael Jared Followill Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion,...
, Jordan Pruitt
Jordan Pruitt
Jordan Lynne Pruitt is an American recording artist. She started writing songs at age nine. After recording a demo album in 2006, Pruitt was discovered by producer Keith Thomas and later signed to Hollywood Records....
, Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
, Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Marie Underwood is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, in 2005...
, Sons of Sylvia, Craig Morgan, Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
and Metro Station
Metro Station (band)
Metro Station is an American pop rock band that formed in Los Angeles by Mason Musso and Trace Cyrus. In late 2006, the band signed a recording contract with Columbia/Red Ink. They are best known for their Top 10 Billboard hit single "Shake It" from their self-titled debut album...
, among others.
The University of South Carolina holds most of its commencement exercises in the Colonial Life Arena. The first commencement speaker for ceremonies at the Colonial Center was President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
in 2003.
On October 9, 2006, WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
held an edition of Monday Night Raw in Columbia. The special 3-hour edition was entitled 'WWE Homecoming - Family Reunion.' The WWE's first visit came in November 2002, when the Colonial Life Arena played host to a taping of Smackdown. The WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
has since returned to the arena for Monday Night Raw on March 24, 2008 and November 28, 2011.
In 2007, it was home to the Columbia Stingers
Columbia Stingers
The Columbia Stingers were a team in the National Indoor Football League which played for one season, in 2007. The team played their home games at the Colonial Center, home to South Carolina Gamecocks basketball....
of the National Indoor Football League
National Indoor Football League
National Indoor Football League was a professional indoor football league in the United States. For their first six years, the league had teams in markets not covered by either the Arena Football League or its developmental league, af2, however, that changed briefly with their expansion into AFL...
.
On June 28, 2007, selected contestants from Dancing With The Stars
Dancing with the Stars (US TV series)
Dancing with the Stars is a reality show airing on ABC in the United States, and CTV in Canada in 2011. The show is the American version of the British BBC television series Strictly Come Dancing...
performed dances, as part of their summer tour.
On December 9, 2007, a rally for Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
was scheduled to be held at the arena. Because the rally also featured Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
, tickets to the event sold out days before the rally. The rally was eventually moved to nearby Williams-Brice Stadium
Williams-Brice Stadium
Williams-Brice Stadium is the home football stadium for the South Carolina Gamecocks, the college football team representing the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina...
.
The venue, like all Comcast-Spectator managed facilities, has its own ticketing policy, and therefore concerts are not controlled by the major ticketing-industry industry firms.
Controversy
The venue was built to host future NCAANational Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament games. However, shortly before construction began, the NCAA barred venues in South Carolina and Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
from hosting such events due to protests from the NAACP. The NAACP and several other groups objected to the state hosting any NCAA-sanctioned tournament games due to the presence of a Confederate battle flag
Flags of the Confederate States of America
There were only three flag designs adopted, with later, minor variants made to those designs, that served as the official national flags of the Confederate States of America and used during its existence from 1861 to 1865...
flying near a soldiers' memorial on the South Carolina Statehouse grounds.