Checkerdome

St. Louis Arena

The Arena with Blues banner
Former names	Checkerdome (1977–1983)
Location	5700 Oakland Avenue St. Louis, Missouri
Coordinates	38°37′45″N 90°16′58″W / 38.62917°N 90.28278°W / 38.62917; -90.28278Coordinates: 38°37′45″N 90°16′58″W / 38.62917°N 90.28278°W / 38.62917; -90.28278
Owner	City of St. Louis
Operator	City of St. Louis
Capacity	Ice hockey: 14,200 (1929–1968) 14,500 (1968–1969) 15,500 (1969–1970) 17,776 (1970–1971) 17,821 (1971–1972) 18,005 (1972–1974) 18,008 (1974–1975) 18,006 (1975–1978) 17,968 (1978–1985) 17,640 (1985–1988) 17,188 (1988–1994)
Construction
Broke ground	1927
Opened	September 23, 1929
Closed	May 23, 1994
Demolished	February 27, 1999
Construction cost	US$1.5 million ($20.9 million in 2017 dollars)
Architect	Gustel R. Kiewitt
General contractor	Boaz-Kiel Construction Company
Tenants
St. Louis Flyers (AHA/AHL) (1929–1953) St. Louis Eagles (NHL) (1934–1935) Chicago Black Hawks (NHL) (occasional use; 1951–1959) St. Louis Braves (CHL) (1963–1967) St. Louis Blues (NHL) (1967–1994) St. Louis Hawks (NBA) (occasional use; 1955–1968) St. Louis Bombers (NBA) (1946–1950) St. Louis Stars (NASL) (1971, 1974) Spirits of St. Louis (ABA) (1974–1976) St. Louis Steamers (MISL) (1979–1988) St. Louis Storm (MISL) (1989–1992) St. Louis Ambush (NPSL) (1992–1994) St. Louis Vipers (RHI) (1993–1994) Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball (NCAA) (1968–1973 and 1991–1994) Saint Louis Billikens ice hockey (1970–1979)

St. Louis Arena (known as the Checkerdome from 1977 to 1983) was an indoor arena located in St. Louis, Missouri, that stood from 1929 to 1999. It was home to the St. Louis Blues and various other sports franchises. The Arena was located directly across I-64 from Forest Park's Aviation Field.

The Arena was the site of conventions, concerts, political rallies, horse shows, circuses, boxing matches, Roller Derby competitions, indoor soccer matches, the 1973 and 1978 NCAA men's basketball Final Four, the NCAA Men's Midwest Regional finals in 1982, 1984, and 1993, the 1992–94 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament, and the 1975 NCAA Frozen Four ice hockey finals.

At the conclusion of the 1904 World's Fair, St. Louis ended its long tradition of annually hosting large indoor agriculture and horse shows. The city tore down its huge St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall and built the St. Louis Coliseum which was aimed at individual events such as boxing matches.

In 1928 the National Dairy Show offered the city the opportunity to become the permanent location for its annual two-week meeting of dairymen and their prize animals. With no public funds available, a group of businessmen raised private funding for what was projected as a $2 million building. The National Exposition Company in charge of the project hired Gustel R. Kiewitt as architect and the Boaz-Kiel Construction Company as general contractor.

Kiewit's design called for a lamella roof supported by 20 cantilever steel trusses, eliminating the need for view-obscuring internal support pillars. The lamella design consisted of Douglas fir ribs, 3.75 inches thick, 17.5 inches wide and 15 feet long, fitted together diagonally and giving the appearance of fish scales. The huge structure was completed in 1929, just over a year after construction began. At 476 feet long and 276 feet wide, it was behind only Madison Square Garden as the largest indoor entertainment space in the country. A 13-story building could have been erected inside of it.