Dane County Coliseum
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| Former names | Dane County Coliseum Dane County Expo Center (1967–2000) |
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| Location | 1919 Alliant Energy Center Way Madison, Wisconsin 53713, U.S. |
| Owner | Dane County |
| Operator | Dane County |
| Capacity | 10,231 |
| Opened | 1967 |
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Wisconsin Badgers (NCAA) (1967–1998) Madison Monsters (CoHL/UHL) (1995–1999) Madison Mad Dogs (IPFL/IFL) (1998–2000) Madison Kodiaks (UHL) (1999–2000) Wisconsin Wolfpack (CIFL) (2009) Madison Capitols (USHL) (2014–present) |
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Alliant Energy Center (formerly Dane County Coliseum) is a multi-building complex located in Madison, Wisconsin. It comprises 164 acres (0.66 km2) of greenspace and includes the 255,000-square-foot (23,700 m2) Exhibition Hall, the 10,000-seat Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the 29-acre (0.12 km2) Willow Island and the 22,000-square-foot (2,000 m2) Arena. After completing various stages of planning throughout 2013, it was announced on November 26 that Dane County would be awarding a $20.7 million contract to Miron Construction for the construction of two new multi-use pavilions at the Alliant Energy Center. The exhibition pavilions, which total 290,000 square feet, will be replacing the nine current agricultural barns. Construction began following the Midwest Horse Fair in April 2014 with completion set in time for the 2014 World Dairy Expo in late September. The Center welcomes more than one million people attending more than 500 events annually, ranging from local meetings and banquets to large sporting events and major concerts.
The Alliant Energy Center campus is located on the southern edge of Madison, Wisconsin, on John Nolen Drive.
In 1895 the Agricultural Society and Dane County purchased 250 acres (1.0 km2) of land at the current site to provide an area that could be used for the Dane County Fair. This area was known as "Lakeside Park Farm", but some thought it merely represented a worthless swampland. Because of financial difficulties, the Dane County Fair was halted on the site in 1938 and did not return until 1951. During this time, even though the Dane County Fair was held in an alternate location, the County board did not abandon the site and Dane County managed to pay off the mortgage for the property in 1941.
As a major turning point towards the advent of a full-service venue, roads, parking lots, sewer and water, a heating plant and kitchen/bathroom facilities were built on the grounds in 1949-51. In 1951, the Dane County Fair moved back to the present Alliant Energy Center (formerly the Expo Center) and remains there today.
Over the ensuing years, the first buildings were erected on the site. In 1954 the Arena was built; it remains the only building still standing from this era. The Youth Building was constructed in 1962 and housed the offices for 4-H in Dane County. This area now serves as the administration building for the Alliant Energy Center. In 1967, Veterans Memorial Coliseum was built. Its early clientele included the Zor Shrine Circus, World Dairy Expo, Dane County Junior Fair, The ABC National Bowling Tournament, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Tony Bennett, Duke Ellington and Elvis Presley.
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