The Omni | |
 The Omni in 1979 | |
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| Location | 100 Techwood Drive Atlanta,Georgia 30303 United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°45′27″N84°23′48″W / 33.75750°N 84.39667°W /33.75750; -84.39667 |
| Owner | City of Atlanta |
| Operator | City of Atlanta |
| Capacity | Basketball: 16,181 (1972–1977), 16,400 (1977–1984), 16,522 (1984–1987), 16,451 (1987–1988), 16,371 (1988–1990), 16,390 (1990–1991), 16,425 (1991–1992), 16,441 (1992–1993), 16,368 (1993–1994), 16,378 (1994–1997) Hockey: 15,078 (1972–1973), 15,141 (1973–1977), 15,155 (1977–1983), 15,278 (1984–1997) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | March 30, 1971; 54 years ago (1971-03-30)[1] |
| Opened | October 14, 1972; 52 years ago (1972-10-14) |
| Closed | May 11, 1997; 27 years ago (1997-05-11) |
| Demolished | July 26, 1997; 27 years ago (1997-07-26) |
| Construction cost | $17 million ($128 million in 2024 dollars[2]) |
| Architect | Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates |
| Structural engineer | Prybylowski and Gravino, Inc.[3] |
| Services engineer | Lazensky & Borum, Inc.[4] |
| General contractor | Ira H. Hardin Company[3] |
| Tenants | |
| Atlanta Hawks (NBA) (1972–1997) Atlanta Flames (NHL) (1972–1980) Atlanta Chiefs (NASL Indoor) (1979–1981) Atlanta Attack (AISA/NPSL) (1989–1991) Atlanta Knights (IHL) (1992–1996) Atlanta Fire Ants (RHI) (1994) | |
Omni Coliseum (often calledThe Omni) was anindoor arena inAtlanta, Georgia, United States. Completed in 1972, the arena seated 16,378 forbasketball and 15,278 forhockey. It was part of the Omni Complex, now known as theCNN Center.
It was the home arena for theAtlanta Hawks of theNational Basketball Association (NBA) from 1972 until the arena's closure in 1997,[5][6] and theAtlanta Flames of theNational Hockey League (NHL) from their inception in 1972 until 1980, when the franchise wassold and relocated toCalgary, Alberta. It hosted the1977 Final Four, the1988 Democratic National Convention, and the1996 Summer Olympics indoor volleyball competition.
The Omni was closed and demolished in 1997.[5][7][8][6] Its successor, Philips Arena (nowState Farm Arena), was constructed on the Omni's site and opened in 1999.[9][10][11]
In 1968, real estate developerTom Cousins, and formerGovernor of Georgia,Carl Sanders bought the NBA'sSt. Louis Hawks, and relocated them to Atlanta, where Cousins made plans to build a new sports arena over an unused railroad gulch in the downtown area. The $17 million indoor arena with a totalcapacity of 16,500 would be named "The Omni", where itsname comes from theLatin prefix meaning "all" or "every". Construction on the Omni began in April 1971, and was completed in October 1972.[12][13][14][15]
The arena was considered an architectural marvel that combined innovative roof, seating, and structural designs. The logo is based on the unique seating arrangement.
The exterior cladding was composed of Cor-Tenweathering steel, which is covered in rust; the idea was that the steel would continue to rust to the point where the rusted exterior would form a protective seal, making a solid steel structure that would last for decades.
The Omni was noted for its distinctivespace frameroof, often joked about as looking like an egg crate or a rusty waffle iron.[5][6] Designed by the firm oftvsdesign[16] with structural engineering work by the firm of Prybylowski and Gravino, the roof was technically described as an ortho-quad truss system.
The only surviving component of the Omni is its scoreboard, which now hangs in the pavilion of the State Farm Arena. American Sign & Indicator (which becameTrans-Lux) built the basketball-specific scoreboard in the early 1980s to replace the original hockey-specific scoreboard thatDaktronics maintained during the 1990s. The arena also had four message boards in each end zone, two of which were animation boards.
The Omni was a hotbed forprofessional wrestling. Since its opening, it was considered the home base for the NWA'sGeorgia Championship Wrestling,Jim Crockett Promotions, andWorld Championship Wrestling. Many major and historic wrestling events took place at the Omni, includingStarrcade (1985, 1986, 1989 and 1992), the firstWarGames match during the Great American Bash tour (1987), and the firstSlamboree in 1993. TheWorld Wrestling Federation also held many events at the Omni including house shows and closed circuit broadcasts until their last card at the venue on November 2, 1992. WCW also airedMonday Nitro on January 1, 1996, and March 3, 1997, at the Omni.
In July 1986 challengerEvander Holyfield beat WBA Light Heavyweight ChampionDwight Muhammad Qawi by split decision (144–140, 147–138, 141–143). The fight is widely regarded as one of the best fights in the history of boxing.
The Omni was home to the NBA'sAtlanta Hawks from1972 to1997.[5][8][6] The Hawks played their first game at the Omni on October 15, 1972, defeating theNew York Knicks, 109–101.[17][18][19] Their final game at the Omni was a Game 4 loss toMichael Jordan, and theChicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals during the1997 NBA Playoffs, 89–80 on May 11, 1997.[20][21][22][23]
The Omni was also home to the NHL'sAtlanta Flames (now theCalgary Flames) from1972 until1980, and theAtlanta Knights of theIHL (1992–1996). In 1994, the Knights became the only pro team to win a championship in the building, when they won theTurner Cup.
In 1977, the arena hosted theNCAA Final Four, won byMarquette University overNorth Carolina. This was Warriors' coachAl McGuire's last game. It also hosted oneSEC and threeACC men's basketball tournaments, the1978 NBA All-Star Game, the1993 NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four,[8] and theindoor volleyball matches for the1996 Summer Olympics.[6]
The Omni was the indoor home of theAtlanta Chiefs of theNorth American Soccer League, as well as the Atlanta Attack of the American Indoor Soccer Association.
The Omni was Atlanta's primary concert venue from 1972 to 1997. TheGrateful Dead played The Omni 24 times between 1973 and 1995, more than any other musical act.[24]The Jacksons performed for theDestiny World Tour in 1979 and for theTriumph Tour in 1981.Madonna brought both herVirgin Tour in 1985 and herWho's That Girl World Tour in 1987 to the Omni Coliseum.Michael Jackson performed for theBad Tour in 1988.Elvis Presley played 12 sell out shows between June 1973 and December 1976.[5][8] Judas Priest has also played this venue on a few occasions.
Def Leppard recorded footage from the October 7–9, 1988 shows at the Omni for theirIn the Round, in Your Face video.Paul McCartney and Wings played at the Omni on May 18, 1976, and May 19, 1976, during theirWings Over the World tour.Paul McCartney returned to the Omni with his band for concerts on February 18, 1990, and February 19, 1990.George Harrison played two concerts on November 24, 1974, on his only North Americansolo tour. Pink Floyd played at the Omni in November 1987 on theirA Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour.
Among the major non-sports events at the Omni was the1988 Democratic National Convention, where delegates nominatedMichael Dukakis andLloyd Bentsen forPresident andVice President of the United States, respectively.[25][8][6]
The Omni did not last nearly as long as many other arenas built during the same time period, in part because a number of its innovations did not work as intended. Most seriously, its designers failed to reckon with Atlanta's humid subtropical climate, which specifically caused problems with theCor-Ten exterior walls; the weathering steel never actually created the seal that had been envisioned and instead corroded to the point where holes large enough for a person to climb through began showing up along the perimeter of the building. In addition, the space frame roof of the building would often leak water as the designers did not anticipate the building settling into its foundation as quickly as it did.[5][6]
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a growing number of NBA and NHL teams began to construct arenas with better amenities for their high-end customers to increase revenue. These amenities included luxury boxes, club seating, and massive club concourses. Some of these new arenas had as many as 200 luxury boxes. By comparison, the Omni had only 16 luxury boxes and no club level. It also became a disadvantage during Atlanta's explosive population growth.
Although the Omni hosted many events, it lost more than its share due to the smaller capacity and lack of amenities compared to newer buildings in other cities. By the start of the 1990s, an effort began to build a replacement. A new arena would have likely been needed in any event due to the Omni's structural problems. This also stemmed fromTed Turner's desire to own an NHL franchise; the Flames had been sold to Canadian businessmen and relocated toCalgary, Alberta a decade earlier. The NHL determined the Omni was not suitable even as a temporary facility, and would only grant Atlanta an expansion team if Turner guaranteed a brand-new arena would be in place by the time the new team took the ice.
Despite the arena's close proximity to the CNN Center,Georgia World Congress Center, and theOmni MARTA station, the Omni was imploded on July 26, 1997. Philips Arena (nowState Farm Arena) was constructed in its place, and opened on September 18, 1999.[9][10][11] The demolition of the Omni forced the Hawks to split their home games for the 1997–98 and 1998–99 seasons between theAlexander Memorial Coliseum atGeorgia Tech (their first home in Atlanta), and theGeorgia Dome.[5][20][7][8]
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| Events and tenants | ||
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| Preceded by | Home of the Atlanta Hawks 1972 –1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by first arena | Home of the Atlanta Flames 1972 –1980 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | NCAAMen's Division I Basketball Tournament Finals Venue 1977 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Host of the NBA All-Star Game 1978 | Succeeded by |
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