Colonial Life Arena

The Colonial Life Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Columbia, South Carolina, primarily home to the University of South Carolina men's and women's basketball teams. Opened as a replacement for the Carolina Coliseum with the name Carolina Center in 2002, the 18,000-seat arena is also host to various events like conferences, concerts, and graduation ceremonies throughout the year. It is the largest arena in the state of South Carolina and the eighth largest campus college arena.

Colonial Life Arena
Former namesCarolina Center (2002–2003)
Colonial Center (2003–2008)
Location801 Lincoln Street
Columbia, South Carolina 29208
Coordinates33°59′42″N 81°02′14″W
Public transit The Comet:
Routes 28, 52X, 63, 101, 201, 301, 401, 601
Amtrak Silver Star at Columbia
OwnerUniversity of South Carolina
OperatorSpectra
Capacity18,000 (Basketball)
19,000 (Concerts)
SurfaceMulti-surface
Construction
Broke groundApril 25, 2001[1]
OpenedNovember 21, 2002
Construction cost$65 million
($92.4 million in 2019 dollars[2])
ArchitectRosser International Inc.
JHS Architects[3]
Structural engineerGeiger Engineers[4]
General contractorBeers Construction[5]
Tenants
South Carolina Gamecocks (NCAA) (2002–present)
Columbia Stingers (NIFL) (2007)

The naming rights were acquired in 2003 by Unum, a Portland, Maine–based insurance company, and it was renamed to the Colonial Center after the Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company, a Unum subsidiary headquartered in Columbia. On July 22, 2008, the USC board approved renaming the building to the Colonial Life Arena as part of the rebranding by Unum (which by then had moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee) of Colonial Life & Accident as Colonial Life.[6]

History and use
The arena floor of the Colonial Life Arena.

The arena first opened on November 22, 2002, with the season opener of the South Carolina women's basketball team. A near sell-out crowd of 17,712 fans saw the 72–58 Gamecocks victory over in-state rival Clemson, with a $1 admission charge, at that time commonly used by the women's basketball team to promote major games. The official grand opening took place December 2, 2002. The men's basketball team defeated Temple 66–47. On January 26, 2010 South Carolina defeated #1 ranked and undefeated Kentucky 68–62 in the arena, one of the biggest wins in South Carolina history.[7]

Aside from Gamecock basketball, the Colonial Life Arena also hosts the South Carolina High School Basketball Championships each year. The facility is built to also host ice hockey games, and was intended to be the new home of the ECHL's Columbia Inferno. However, due to legal issues with the funding for the facility, the Inferno never played there. The franchise suspended operations in 2008, but after plans for a new arena in neighboring Lexington County fell through, the franchise was finally canceled in 2014.

The Colonial Life Arena was ranked 22nd in the world in ticket sales in 2003.[8] It was also ranked the #1 arena in the Carolinas and was the #2 rated university arena in the world in 2005, based on ticket sales for touring shows.[9]

It is managed by Spectra (formerly Global Spectrum), the facilities management subsidiary of Comcast Spectacor. The NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, then owned by Comcast Spectacor, played an exhibition game in the venue in October 2005.

In 2007, it was home to the Columbia Stingers of the National Indoor Football League. The arena has hosted the Charlotte Bobcats and New York Knicks in the past.

The venue, like all Comcast-Spectator managed facilities, has its own ticketing policy, and therefore concerts are not controlled by the major ticketing industry firms.

Ticketing is provided by New Era Tickets, and tickets can be purchased through the Arena's web site.

Non-basketball events

Other events held at the Arena have included Disney on Ice, High School Musical: The Concert, Sesame Street, American Idols Live!, Trans-Siberian Orchestra every December since 2005, Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus (until 2017), ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, and WWE Raw.

Concerts

Artists that have performed at the arena over the past 17 years include: The Eagles, Cher, Billy Joel, Elton John (in '05, 2019, and 2020). Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band (who played the first ever show at the Arena, on December 9, 2002), Prince & The New Power Generation twice (in 2004 and in 2011), Aerosmith in 2004, Jimmy Buffett 3x (in '04,'10, and 2020), Britney Spears in 2004, Pink in 2019, John Mayer in 2007, Def Leppard with Foreigner, Journey with Steve Miller Band, Cheap Trick, Mötley Crüe, Kanye West in 2004, B2K, Jamie Foxx, Lil Jon, Soulja Boy, T.I. in 2013 with Jeezy, Lil Wayne, Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood a few times (once in 2010), Jason Aldean in 2014 and '20, Thomas Rhett, Florida Georgia Line, Craig Morgan, Taylor Swift four times (with Rascal Flatts in 2008, 2010, with SC's Needtobreathe in 2011, with Ed Sheeran in 2013), Ariana Grande in 2019, Miley Cyrus and Metro Station in 2009, Justin Bieber in 2013, Bruno Mars in 2014, James Taylor in 2015 and '19, Kenny Chesney a few times (once in 2015), Blake Shelton with Luke Bryan in 2010, Zac Brown Band in 2012, Eric Church in 2012, Lee Brice in 2013, Darius Rucker twice (in 2014 and 2017), R. Kelly four times, Usher in 2011 with Akon, Drake with Kendrick Lamar in 2012, Cardi B with Offset in 2019, Post Malone in 2020, Chris Brown in 2014, The Weeknd w/Gucci Mane in 2017, Trey Songz, Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Coolio, Skillet, Nickelback with Chevelle in 2006, Pearl Jam twice (first with Kings of Leon in 2008, and in 2016), Red Hot Chili Peppers twice (in 2012 and 2017), Weezer in 2019, Maroon 5 twice (in 2016 w/Tove Lo), the Foo Fighters with The Struts in 2017, Imagine Dragons in 2018, and Five Finger Death Punch with Three Days Grace in 2019. Columbia's Hootie & the Blowfish came to the Colonial in fall 2019 with the Barenaked Ladies for 3 nights. Kanye West's return to the Colonial Arena (part of his Saint Pablo Tour) in December 2016 was cancelled, and The Chainsmokers concert (part of their Memories Do Not Open Tour) in May 2017 was cancelled. The 2020 Millennium Tour with Ashanti and Bow Wow was rescheduled for July due to COVID-19.

Britney Spears 2004 The Onyx Hotel Tour

Taylor Swift 2011 Speak Now World Tour

Drake 2012 Club Paradise Tour

Nickelback 2006 All The Right Reasons Tour

Pearl Jam 2008 Pearl Jam 2008 United States Tour

Red Hot Chili Peppers 2012 I'm with You World Tour

Foo Fighters 2017 Concrete and Gold Tour

Aerosmith 2004 Honkin' on Bobo Tour

Elton John 2005 Peachtree Road Tour

On June 25, 2015, Paul McCartney performed at the Colonial Life Arena as part of his 2015 Out There tour. The June 25 show was Paul's first performance in Columbia since he played Williams-Brice Stadium on May 7, 1993 as part of his The New World Tour.

On December 3, 2019, Ariana Grande performed at the Colonial Life Arena as part of her Sweetener World Tour.

Other events

The University of South Carolina holds most of its commencement exercises in the Colonial Life Arena. The first commencement speaker for ceremonies at the Colonial Center was President George W. Bush in 2003.

On June 28, 2007, selected contestants from Dancing With The Stars performed dances, as part of their summer tour.

On December 9, 2007, a rally for Barack Obama was scheduled to be held at the arena. Because the rally also featured Oprah Winfrey, tickets to the event sold out days before the rally. The rally was eventually moved to nearby Williams-Brice Stadium.[10]

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See also

References
  1. "Crowd Revels in Future Arena". The State. Columbia, SC. April 26, 2001. p. B1. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  2. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  3. "Book of 2005 Lists" (PDF). Columbia Business Journal. July 11, 2005. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  4. "Paul A. Gossen, P.E." Geiger Engineers. Archived from the original on 2016-09-19. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  5. "What's on Deck?". SportsBusiness Journal. July 30, 2001. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  6. "Colonial Center Name Change Approved". South Carolina Athletics. July 22, 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  7. "Kentucky Schedule (2009-10)". Big Blue History. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  8. "The Colonial Center Ranks 22nd Worldwide in Ticket Sales to its Events". South Carolina Athletics. January 16, 2004. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  9. http://sdm3.com/viewmsg.cfm?n35069s338c632468t337e1685912%5B%5D
  10. "Oprah, Obama To Visit S.C." WYFF. Greenville, SC. December 4, 2007. Archived from the original on December 26, 2007. Retrieved December 4, 2007.
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