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 Reunion Arena in 2004 | |
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| Location | 777 Sports Street Dallas, Texas 75207 U.S. |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 32°46′22″N96°48′29″W / 32.77278°N 96.80806°W /32.77278; -96.80806 |
| Owner | City of Dallas |
| Operator | City of Dallas |
| Capacity | Basketball: 17,772 (1980–81) 17,134 (1981–83) 17,007 (1983–91) 17,502 (1991–96) 18,042 (1996–98) 18,121 (1998–99) 18,190 (1999–2008) Ice hockey: 16,500 (1980–91) 16,914 (1991–95) 16,924 (1995–97) 16,928 (1997–99) 17,000 (1999–2008) Indoor soccer: 16,626 (1993–04) Concerts:
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| Scoreboard | American Sign & Indicator, nowTrans-Lux |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | March 15, 1978; 47 years ago (1978-03-15)[1] |
| Opened | April 28, 1980; 44 years ago (1980-04-28)[2] |
| Closed | June 30, 2008; 16 years ago (2008-06-30) |
| Demolished | November 17, 2009; 15 years ago (2009-11-17) |
| Construction cost | US$27 million ($103 million in 2024 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) (1980–2001) Dallas Tornado (NASL indoor) (1980–1981) Dallas Sidekicks (MISL/CISL/WISL/MISL II) (1984–2004) Dallas Texans (AFL) (1990–1993) Dallas Stars (NHL) (1993–2001) Dallas Stallions (RHI) (1999) Dallas Desperados (AFL) (2003) | |
Reunion Arena was anindoor arena located in theReunion district ofdowntown Dallas,Texas, United States. The arena served as the primary home of theNational Hockey League's (NHL)Dallas Stars and theNational Basketball Association's (NBA)Dallas Mavericks. The venue's capacity held accommodations for 17,000 forice hockey spectators, and 18,190 forbasketball spectators.
Reunion was also a performance venue for some of the biggest names in popular music from the 1980s through the late 2000s includingMichael Jackson,Paul McCartney,Prince,Van Halen,Frank Sinatra,Elton John,David Bowie,Madonna,Dire Straits,Gloria Estefan,Phil Collins,Mötley Crüe,Pink Floyd,Queen,Journey,U2,R.E.M. andRadiohead.
Reunion Arena was demolished in November 2009 and the site was cleared by the end of the year.[6][7]
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.[citation needed] 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—seeCharlotte Coliseum). The color matrix messageboards on that scoreboard were replaced in 1991 with SonyJumbotron video screens.
The arena was the home of theDallas Mavericks from 1980 to 2001 and theDallas Stars from 1993 to 2001. Both teams moved to the newAmerican Airlines Center in 2001. TheDallas Desperados arena football team used the arena for its 2003 season but ultimately returned toAmerican Airlines Center.
The arena's last remaining full-time sports tenant was theMISLDallas Sidekicks, but the club was inactive after the fall of 2004.
Reunion Arena also hosted the WCT Tennis Tournament in the 1980s, includingVirginia Slims Invitational Tournament. Due to scheduling conflicts in 1984, the WCT Tennis Tournament forced the Dallas Mavericks to play Game 5 of their first playoff series atMoody Coliseum, against theSeattle SuperSonics. While nearbySouthern Methodist University competed in theSouthwest Conference, Reunion Arena was known byUniversity of Arkansas Razorbacks fans as "Barnhill South", due to the big following by the Arkansas fans away from home; theBarnhill Arena was the home to allUA games until 1993. Reunion Arena hosted theSouthwest Conference men's basketball tournament in 1982–1983 and 1985–1996 as well as the 1986 NCAA Final Four.
Reunion was also a venue that was frequently used byWorld Class Championship Wrestling in the 1980s, in which the organization held its bi-monthly Star Wars events.
Reunion Arena also served as the venue forWWE's December 21, 1999 and November 9, 2000SmackDown show as well as theFully Loaded Pay-Per-View event in July of the same year.
Reunion Arena was long a hot stop for politicians campaigning in Dallas.
President Ronald Reagan spoke at Reunion Arena at a prayer breakfast of an estimated 10,000 people on Aug. 23, 1984, during the Republican National Convention.[9] That night, he accepted the nomination for a second term at the Dallas Convention Center.[10]
Reunion Arena was the final campaign stop for Ross Perot, the Dallas billionaire, in his 1992 independent run for president. He drew about 5,000 people.
In 1994,U.S. PresidentBill Clinton visited the arena to watch theUniversity of Arkansas basketball team play in theNCAA tournament.
President George W. Bush headlined a campaign rally before 13,000 on behalf of Gov. Rick Perry on Nov. 6, 2006.
Barack Obama filled the arena to capacity of 17,000 at a presidential campaign rally on February 20, 2008, with many others turned away by the fire department. It was one of the last events at the venue before it was razed.[11]
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. AlthoughThe Who was widely promoted as the first concert at Reunion on July 2, 1980, the first musical act to perform at the venue was actuallyParliament-Funkadelic on May 9, 1980. At least five other concerts includingBoz Scaggs, theCommodores,The Oak Ridge Boys,Foghat with thePat Travers Band, and a triple bill ofTed Nugent,Scorpions, andDef Leppard were all booked before the official opening in July.
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Listed below are artists and bands who performed at Reunion arena. They are divided up by the year they played, starting in the 1980s. The 1990s and 2000s are divided up a bit more by genre.
This is a list of artists who constantly produced hits, and were considered stars during the 1980s, and performed at Reunion Arena.
A number of acts were so popular they booked (and usually sold out) multiple consecutive dates. Some of the most successful multi-night engagements at Reunion Arena includedStevie Wonder (November 2–3, 1980),AC/DC (February 1–2, 1982 and October 11–12, 1985),Rush (February 28 – March 1, 1983, January 12–13, 1986 and January 19–20, 1988),Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band (May 4–5, 1983),Bryan Adams andJourney (June 8–10, 1983; Journey returned December 2–3, 1986),ZZ Top (four-night stints September 28 – October 1, 1983, and August 30 – September 4, 1986; two-night engagements on August 30–31, 1986, April 22–23, 1991 and October 29–30, 1994),The Police withUB40 (November 13–14, 1983),Neil Diamond (December 4–6, 1983, December 6–8, 1984 and June 9–10, 1986),Van Halen (September 10–11, 1981, November 18–19, 1982 and July 14–16, 1984),Prince (December 30, 1984 – January 1, 1985),Genesis (January 18–19, 1987),David Bowie (October 10–11, 1987),Pink Floyd (November 21–23, 1987),Michael Jackson (April 25–27, 1988),Madonna (May 7–8, 1990),Mötley Crüe withLita Ford andFaster Pussycat (July 30–31, 1990),Depeche Mode withThe The (October 13–14, 1993),Garth Brooks (February 13–15, 1998),Backstreet Boys (March 3–4, 2000),Dixie Chicks (August 10–11, 2000), andPaul McCartney (May 9–10, 2002).
Reunion was considered one of the top venues forhard rock andheavy metal artists and in its first five years music videos forQueen's "Another One Bites The Dust",Scorpions' "Still Loving You" andMötley Crüe's "Home Sweet Home" were all shot in and around the venue.
Several classic-rock acts played the 18,000-plus seat venue including:
On March 18, 1995Led Zeppelin principalsRobert Plant andJimmy Page—each of whom had played the venue as headliners and Page with British supergroupThe Firm—reunited to play blues covers, songs from their respective solo careers and Zeppelin classics fin the style of their 1994 collaborationNo Quarter. The duo returned to Reunion Arena September 27, 1998, in support of their follow-upWalking into Clarksdale.
Country music superstars also dominated the scene at Reunion Arena in the 1980s beginning with a triple bill ofWillie Nelson,Ray Price andLacy J. Dalton on December 30, 1980. Other country artists of note at Reunion Arena included:
Many top names in soul, R&B and funk played at Reunion includingTeddy Pendergrass,Commodores,Diana Ross,Rick James,The Temptations,Ray Parker Jr.,The Gap Band,Marvin Gaye,Al Jarreau,The Isley Brothers,Ray Charles,Luther Vandross,Earth, Wind & Fire,Gladys Knight & the Pips, andKool & the Gang.The Jacksons—brothers Michael, Jermaine, Jackie, Marlon, Randy and Tito—performed on July 11, 1981, as part of the Triumph Tour, performing both a Jackson 5 medley as well as covers of Michael's 70s hits including "Off The Wall", "Rock With You", "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough", and more. In April 1988,Michael Jackson returned for a three-night engagement in support of hisBad album. Janet Jackson headlined Reunion Arena on July 2, 1990, touring behind her smash albumRhythm Nation 1814. Prince played two New Year's Eve shows at Reunion Arena—on December 31, 1982, withVanity 6 andThe Time, and again on December 30–31, 1984, through January 1, 1985, withSheila E.
The venue was also host to some of the first large-scale hip-hop and rap concerts in Dallas includingGrandmaster Flash and the Furious Five on November 29, 1980, and a triple bill withRun-DMC,Beastie Boys andTimex Social Club on June 15, 1986 (the Run-DMC/Beastie Boys pairing proved successful enough to warrant a return engagement on July 24, 1987). In the 1990s and 2000s hip-hop and rap acts as diverse asMC Hammer,Bobby Brown,Method Man andRedman,DMX,Jay-Z, andEminem would eventually headline the venue.
Many 1980s stars played Reunion in the early 1990s including:
Top 1990s pop acts also played the venue, includingMelissa Etheridge,Jewel,Ricky Martin,Backstreet Boys,NSYNC,Third Eye Blind,The Wallflowers,Everclear,No Doubt,Creed,The Black Eyed Peas, andGwen Stefani.
Although legacy hard rock acts like Aerosmith and Rush continued to be big draws in the 1990s and 2000s the headliners at Reunion Arena were often aggressive radio-rock acts likePrimus,Korn,Incubus,Pantera,Rob Zombie,Limp Bizkit,Staind,Bush,Blink-182,Marilyn Manson,Godsmack,Kid Rock,Rammstein,System of a Down, andTool.
Alternative rock bands includingSonic Youth,Social Distortion, U2,Pixies,Morrissey,Radiohead,Garbage,The Smashing Pumpkins,Pearl Jam,Alanis Morissette andPJ Harvey all played Reunion Arena in the 1990s and 2000s.
After theDallas Stars andDallas Mavericks moved toAmerican Airlines Center in 2001, that newer and larger venue also began to attract sporting and concert events. In early 2002, Reunion Arena booked engagements includingBob Dylan,NSYNC,Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, andPaul McCartney. But the venue fell out of favor with music promoters that summer and went more than two years without a major concert event.The Black Eyed Peas andGwen Stefani played on November 11, 2005, the last major act to perform at Reunion Arena.
The final performance at Reunion Arena wasChristian hip hop actGroup 1 Crew with Phoenix-based pop-punk groupStellar Kart on June 28, 2008.
Themusic video forQueen's "Another One Bites The Dust" was filmed at Reunion Arena on August 9, 1980.
Thevideo for theScorpions' "Still Loving You" was filmed at Reunion Arena in 1984.
Mötley Crüe shot the video for "Home Sweet Home" partially at Reunion Arena (exteriors and time lapses) on October 2, 1985. The concert footage was shot two days later at Houston concert venueThe Summit.
Judas Priest played June 27, 1986, recording the entire show which parts can be found on thePriest...Live! album. A full concert DVD was released as well.Pink Floyd played three consecutive shows at Reunion in November 1987. Pop singerWhitney Houston played two sold-out concerts at Reunion in September 1987.
Country music superstarGarth Brooks filmed his first television special,This Is Garth Brooks, in the arena on September 20, 1991. The concert became noteworthy after Brooks and guitaristTy England smashed two guitars on stage.
Country music starShania Twain filmed her performance for theCome On Over Tour in the arena on September 12, 1998, and later released on her first DVD,Shania Twain Live.
Frank Sinatra played Reunion Arena three times: in 1984, 1987 and 1989. His October 24, 1987, concert was recorded and released in 2018 as part of theStanding Room Only album.
Metallica's February 5, 1989, show at Reunion Arena was broadcast nationally on FM radio and widely bootlegged. An abbreviated version of this recording was eventually released on CD in 2001 as part of theFan Can 4 box set.
| Location | Dallas, TX, US |
|---|---|
| Time zone | UTC-6CST (UTC-5CST) |
| Opened | 19 September 1993; 31 years ago (1993-09-19) |
| Closed | 1 September 1996; 28 years ago (1996-09-01) |
| Major events | SCCA Dodge Shelby Pro series (1993) Trans-Am Series (1993–1994, 1996) IMSA GT Championship (1996) |
| Circuit (1993–1996) | |
| Length | 2.076 km (1.290 miles) |
| Turns | 10 |
| Race lap record | 0:52.500 ( Eliseo Salazar,Ferrari 333 SP,1996,WSC) |
A temporarystreet circuit at Reunion Arena, known as theDallas street circuit, was set up around the arena, and used some of the surrounding streets. The track was 1.290 mi (2.076 km) in length, had 10 turns, and hosted its first event onSeptember 19, 1993, with theTrans-Am Series visiting the circuit.[12] The track hosted theSCCA Dodge Shelby Pro series in 1993, the Trans-Am Series between 1993 and 1994, and in 1996, and theIMSA GT Championship hosted its sole event at the circuit in 1996.[13][14]
The fastest official race lap records at the former Dallas Street Circuit (Reunion Arena) are listed as:
| Category | Time | Driver | Vehicle | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Street Circuit: 2.076 km (1993–1996) | ||||
| WSC | 0:52.550[15] | Eliseo Salazar | Ferrari 333 SP | 1996 Grand Prix of Dallas |
| Trans-Am | 0:55.690[16] |  Ron Fellows | Ford Mustang | 1994 Dallas Trans-Am round |
| GTS-1 | 0:57.437[15] |  Irv Hoerr | Oldsmobile Aurora | 1996 Grand Prix of Dallas |
On the morning ofSeptember 11, 2001, Reunion Arena was opened to serve as the location for an emergency blood drive.[17]In late 2005, the arena and theDallas Convention Center were used as the primary Dallas shelters for evacuees ofHurricane Katrina.[18]
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.[19]
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 ofSuper Bowl XLV-related festivities, but the show was canceled due to inclement weather. And in September 2012, Cirque du Soleil'sKoozå took place here. As of October 2013, the adjacent parking garage remained standing and there were no plans for construction on the site. The parking garage is often broken into by the homeless and littered with trash. The trash clogs the water run-off drains often causing streets to flood during heavy rains. The city is aware of this issue and responds with “we are looking into this”.
The Reunion Arena site today is now known as Reunion Park with events throughout the year. In 2014,Bruce Springsteen played a concert at the park as the Dallas region played host toMarch Madness.[20] In 2015,Weezer headlined a concert at the park.[21]
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| Preceded by – | Home of the Dallas Mavericks 1980–2001 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Home of the Dallas Stars 1993–2001 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Home of the Dallas Desperados 2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | NCAAMen's Division I Basketball Tournament Finals Venue 1986 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Host of the NBA All-Star Game 1986 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by – | Home of the Dallas Stallions (RHI) 1999 | Succeeded by none |
| Preceded by | Home of the Dallas Tornado 1980–1981 | Succeeded by none |
| Preceded by – | Home of the Dallas Sidekicks 1984–2004 | Succeeded by none |
| Preceded by – | Home of the Dallas Texans 1990–1993 | Succeeded by none |
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