Dallas Sportatorium
| Dallas Sportatorium, The Million-Dollar Sportatorium, GlobalDome | |
| Location | 1000 S. Industrial Blvd (now Riverfront Boulevard) (intersection of Industrial Boulevard & Cadiz Street near the I-30/I-35E Interchange) Dallas, Texas 75207 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 32°46′05″N 96°48′12″W / 32.767989°N 96.803412°W |
| Operator | K. R. Adkisson Enterprises, Inc. |
| Capacity | 4,500 |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1935 |
| Opened | December 9, 1935 |
| Renovated | September 22, 1953 |
| Closed | 1998 |
| Demolished | February 2003 |
| General contractor | W.T. Cox |
| Main contractors | Cox Fence Company |
| Tenants | |
| Burt Willoughby (1935–1940) Ed McLemore (1940–1966) Big D Jamboree (1948–1966) Southwest Sports, Inc. (1966–1969) Big Time Wrestling (1969–1981) World Class Championship Wrestling (1982–1990) Global Wrestling Federation (1991–1994) Southwest Airlines (1992) National Wrestling Alliance (1995–1996) Arturo Agis (1998) |
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The Sportatorium, located in downtown Dallas, Texas, was a barn-like arena used primarily for professional wrestling events. The building, which stood at 1000 S. Industrial Blvd, or the intersection of Industrial Boulevard and Cadiz Street (near the I-30/I-35E Interchange), had a seating capacity of approximately 4,500.
Built in 1934 by the Cox Fence Company, the original Dallas Sportatorium was constructed in the shape of an octagon, and seated approximately 10,000. Its inaugural wrestling event, promoted by Burt Willoughby, took place on December 9, 1935. Willoughby promoted wrestling at the Sportatorium until 1940, when the company was bought out by its former concessions manager, Ed McLemore.
From 1948 until 1966, the Sportatorium was also the site of the Big D Jamboree, a weekly country music showcase similar in format to the Grand Ole Opry and Louisiana Hayride; portions of the Jamboree were broadcast nationally on the CBS Radio Network.
The Sportatorium was partially destroyed by fire on May 1, 1953, in what was rumored to be an act of arson by a rival wrestling promoter. It was quickly rebuilt at the same location as a rectangular venue (with a modified octagonal seating configuration similar to the original), and reopened on September 22 of that year, billed at the time as The Million-Dollar Sportatorium. The arena also held boxing events and concerts featuring up-and-coming rock stars over the years, very much in the same manner as its Los Angeles counterpart, the Grand Olympic Auditorium, did during this time frame.
In late 1966, McLemore formed a partnership with wrestler Jack Adkisson, who was known in the ring as Fritz Von Erich and bought the Dallas/Fort Worth Wrestling Office, breaking away from Paul Boesch and the Houston Wrestling Office. In January 1968, McLemore started suffering a series of heart attacks and was no longer able to attend to the company's day-to-day business; he died on January 9, 1969, leaving Adkisson in charge. Adkisson's promotion, which became known in the early 1980s as World Class Championship Wrestling and featured his sons as its top stars, was the most famous and successful wrestling federation to run regularly at the Dallas Sportatorium.
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