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Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse

Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse
VeteransMemorialFieldhouse.jpg
Location 2590 5th Avenue
Huntington, West Virginia 25703
Coordinates 38°25′31″N 82°24′33″W / 38.42528°N 82.40917°W / 38.42528; -82.40917Coordinates: 38°25′31″N 82°24′33″W / 38.42528°N 82.40917°W / 38.42528; -82.40917
Owner Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District (transferred to Marshall University for the purpose of demolition and property redevelopment)
Operator Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District
Capacity 8,500 (6,500 for basketball)
Construction
Opened October 1950
Closed February 10, 2012
Demolished May–July 2012
Tenants
St. Joseph Catholic High School basketball
Marshall Thundering Herd basketball (NCAA) (1950–81)
Huntington High School basketball (1950–90)
Huntington East High School basketball (1950–90) Huntington Hornets (IHL) (1956–57)
Huntington Heroes (AIFA) (2005–06)
Huntington High School basketball (2006–07)
West Virginia Wild (CIFL) (was to begin in 2009)

Huntington East High School and the original Huntington High School were consolidated into the current Huntington High School in 1996.

The Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse was an 8,500-seat (6,500 for basketball) multi-purpose arena in Huntington, West Virginia. It was built in 1950. Prior to the completion of the Huntington Civic Center (now known as Big Sandy Superstore Arena) in 1976, it was the only large arena in the city. It closed on February 10, 2012, and was demolished later that year.

The Fieldhouse was the home of the Marshall University basketball teams until the completion of the Cam Henderson Center in 1981. It also hosted the West Virginia public high school championships on a rotating basis with Charleston and Morgantown between 1962 and 1970, and the state Catholic championships every year from 1950 until the public and Catholic leagues were merged in 1979. Following the demise of the Catholic League, the local St. Joseph Catholic High School hosted the "St. Joe Invitational" which continued the tradition of skits and plays from that league.

The arena was home to the International Hockey League's short-lived Huntington Hornets for the league's 1956–57 season, which was not successful, as the team went 26–30–4 for the season.

It was the home of all high schools in the city until 1990 and was the home of St. Joseph High until 2011. It was the home of the Huntington Heroes American Indoor Football League team in 2005-06 before they moved to Big Sandy Superstore Arena. In addition, the venue also hosts several high school athletic events, including wrestling and basketball matches.

In the aftermath of the November 14, 1970 Marshall University air tragedy, which claimed the lives of 75 Marshall University football team members, coaches, support staff, boosters and Southern Airways flight crew, the Fieldhouse was the site of a community memorial service on Sunday evening, November 15, 1970 that attracted an estimated 7,000 mourners to the arena.


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