Reunion Arena

Reunion Arena was an indoor arena located in the Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena served as the primary home of the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars and the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks. The venue's capacity held accommodations for 17,000 for ice hockey spectators, and 18,190 for basketball spectators.

Reunion Arena
Location777 Sports Street
Dallas, Texas 75207 U.S.
Coordinates32°46′22″N 96°48′29″W
OwnerCity of Dallas
OperatorCity of Dallas
CapacityBasketball:
17,772 (1980–81)
17,134 (1981–83)
17,007 (1983–91)
17,502 (1991–96)
18,042 (1996–98)
18,121 (1998–99)
18,190 (1999–2008)
Ice hockey:
16,500 (1980–91)
16,914 (1991–95)
16,924 (1995–97)
16,928 (1997–99)
17,000 (1999–2008)
Indoor soccer: 16,626
Concerts:
  • End Stage: 18,630
  • Center Stage: 19,070
  • Half House: 9,663
ScoreboardAmerican Sign & Indicator, now Trans-Lux
Construction
Broke groundMarch 15, 1978[1]
OpenedApril 28, 1980[2]
ClosedJune 30, 2008
DemolishedNovember 17, 2009
Construction costUS$27 million
($83.8 million in 2019 dollars[3])
ArchitectHarwood K. Smith & Partners, Inc.
Structural engineerPaul Gugliotta Consulting Engineers, Inc.[4]
General contractorHenry C. Beck Co.[5]
Tenants
Dallas Mavericks (NBA) (1980–2001)
Dallas Tornado (NASL indoor) (1980–1981)
Dallas Sidekicks (MISL/CISL/WISL/MISL II) (1984–2004)
Dallas Texans (AFL) (1990–1993)
Dallas Stars (NHL) (1993–2001)
Dallas Stallions (RHI) (1999)
Dallas Desperados (AFL) (2003)

Reunion was also a performance venue for some of the biggest names in popular music from the 1980s through the late 2000s including Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, Prince, Van Halen, Frank Sinatra, Elton John, David Bowie, Madonna, Pink Floyd, Queen, U2, R.E.M. and Radiohead.

Reunion Arena was demolished in November 2009 and the site was cleared by the end of the year.[6][7]

History

Reunion Arena was completed in 1980 at a cost of US $27 million.[8] It was named for the early mid-19th century commune, La Reunion. Reunion Arena was notable for two lasts: it was the last NBA or NHL arena to be built without luxury suites, and it was the last NHL arena to still use an American Sign and Indicator scoreboard (though not the last in the NBA—see Charlotte Coliseum). The color matrix messageboards on that scoreboard were replaced in 1991 with Sony Jumbotron video screens.

Home teams and sporting events

The arena was the home of the Dallas Mavericks from 1980 to 2001 and the Dallas Stars from 1993 to 2001. Both teams moved to the new American Airlines Center in 2001. The Dallas Desperados Arena Football team used the arena for its 2003 season but ultimately returned to American Airlines Center.

The arena's last remaining full-time sports tenant was the MISL Dallas Sidekicks, but the club was inactive after the fall of 2004.

Reunion Arena also hosted the WCT Tennis Tournament in the 1980s, including Virginia Slims Invitational Tournament. Due to scheduling conflicts in 1984, the WCT Tennis Tournament forced the Dallas Mavericks to play Game 5 of their first ever playoff series at Moody Coliseum, against the Seattle SuperSonics. While Southern Methodist University competed in the Southwest Conference, Reunion Arena was known by University of Arkansas Razorbacks fans, as Barnhill South, due to the big following by the Arkansas fans away from home; the Barnhill Arena was the home to all UA games until 1993. Reunion Arena hosted the Southwest Conference's basketball tournament in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as the 1986 NCAA Final Four.

Reunion was also a venue that was frequently used by World Class Championship Wrestling in the 1980s, in which the organization held its bi-monthly Star Wars events.

Notable dignitaries

In 1994, U.S. President Bill Clinton visited the arena to watch the University of Arkansas basketball team play in the NCAA Tournament. President Ronald Reagan spoke at Reunion Arena at a prayer breakfast of an estimate 10,000 people on Aug. 23, 1984, during the Republican National Convention.[9] That night, he accepted the nomination for a second term at the Dallas Convention Center.[10] Reunion Arena was long a hot stop for politicians campaigning in Dallas. Barack Obama filled the arena to capacity of 17,000 at a presidential campaign rally on Feb. 20, 2008, with many others turned away by the fire department. It was one of the last events at the venue before it was razed.[11] Reunion Arena was the final campaign stop for Ross Perot, the Dallas billionaire, in his 1992 independent run for president. He drew about 5,000 people. President George W. Bush headlined a campaign rally before 13,000 on behalf of Gov. Rick Perry on Nov. 6, 2006.

Early events

The arena featured 30,000 ft² (2,790 m²) of floor space and had great sightlines, making it ideal for a number of events and games, including many high school graduations. Although The Who was widely promoted as the first concert at Reunion on July 2, 1980, the first musical act to perform at the venue was actually Parliament-Funkadelic on May 9, 1980. At least five other concerts including Boz Scaggs, The Commodores, The Oak Ridge Boys, Foghat with The Pat Travers Band, and a triple bill of Ted Nugent, Scorpions, and Def Leppard were all booked before the official opening in July.

Notable Artist/Band Performances

Listed below are artists and bands whom performed at Reunion arena. They are divided up by the year they played, starting in the 1980s. The 1990s and 2000s are divided up a bit more by genre AList

1980's Hitmakers

This is a list of artists who constantly produced hits, and were considered stars during the 1980s, and performed at Reunion Arena.

A number of acts were so popular they booked (and usually sold out) multiple consecutive dates. Some of the most successful multi-night engagements at Reunion Arena included Stevie Wonder (November 2-3, 1980), AC/DC (February 1-2, 1982 and October 11-12, 1985), Rush (February 28-March 1, 1983, January 12-13, 1986 and January 19-20, 1988), Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band (May 4-5, 1983), Bryan Adams and Journey (June 8-10, 1983; Journey returned August 2-3, 1986), ZZ Top (four-night stints September 28-October 1, 1983 and August 30-September 4, 1986; two-night engagements on August 30-31, 1986, April 22-23, 1991 and October 29-30, 1994), The Police with UB40 (November 13-14, 1983), Neil Diamond (December 4-6, 1983, December 6-8, 1984 and June 9-10, 1986), Van Halen (September 10-11, 1981, November 18-19, 1982 and July 14-16, 1984), Prince (December 30, 1984 - January 1, 1985), Genesis (January 18-19, 1987), David Bowie (October 10-11, 1987), Pink Floyd (November 21-23, 1987), Michael Jackson (April 25-27, 1988), Madonna (May 7-8, 1990), Mötley Crüe with Lita Ford and Faster Pussycat (July 30-31, 1990), Depeche Mode with The The (October 13-14, 1993), Garth Brooks (February 13-15, 1998), Backstreet Boys (March 3-4, 2000), Dixie Chicks (August 10-11, 2000), and Paul McCartney (May 9-10, 2002).

Hard & Classic Rock Artists

Reunion was considered one of the top venues for hard rock and heavy metal artists and in its first five years music videos for Queen's Another One Bites The Dust , Scorpions's Still Loving You and Mötley Crüe's Home Sweet Home were all shot in and around the venue.

Hard Rock



Classic Rock Acts

Several classic-rock acts played the 18,000-plus seat venue including:


On March 18, 1995 Led Zeppelin principals Robert Plant and Jimmy Page -- each of whom had played the venue as headliners and Page with British supergroup The Firm -- reunited to play blues covers, songs from their respective solo careers and Zeppelin classics fin the style of their 1994 collaboration No Quarter. The duo returned to Reunion Arena September 27, 1998 in support of their follow-up Walking Into Clarksdale.

Country artists

Country music superstars also dominated the scene at Reunion Arena in the 19802 beginning with a triple bill of Willie Nelson, Ray Price and Lucy J. Dalton on December 30, 1980. Other country artists of note at Reunion Arena included

Soul, R&B, funk, rap and hip-hop acts

Many top names in soul, R&B and funk played at Reunion including Teddy Pendergrass, Commodores, Diana Ross, Rick James, The Temptations, Ray Parker, Jr., The Gap Band, Marvin Gaye, Al Jarreau, The Isley Brothers, Ray Charles, Luther Vandross, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Gladys Knight & The Pips. The Jacksons -- brothers Michael, Jermaine, Jackie, Marlon, Randy and Tito -- performed on July 11, 1981 as part of the Triumph Tour, performing both a Jackson 5 medley as well as covers of Michael's 70s hits including "Off The Wall," "Rock With You," "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," and more. In April 1988, Michael Jackson returned for a three-night engagement in support of his Bad album. Janet Jackson headlined Reunion Arena on July 2, 1990 touring behind her smash album Rhythm Nation 1814. Prince played two New Years Eve shows at Reunion Arena -- on December 31, 1982 with Vanity 6 and The Time, and again on December 30-31, 1984 through January 1, 1985 with Sheila E.

The venue was also host to some of the first large-scale hip-hop and rap concerts in Dallas including Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five on November 29, 1980 and a triple bill with Run-DMC, Beastie Boys and Timex Social Club on June 15, 1986 (the Run-DMC/Beastie Boys pairing proved successful enough to warrant a return engagement on July 24, 1987). In the 1990s and 2000s hip-hop and rap acts as diverse as MC Hammer, Bobby Brown, Method Man and Redman, DMX, Jay-Z, and Eminem would eventually headline the venue.

1990s and 2000 Performances


1980s Groups Performed in 1990s

Many 1980s stars played Reunion in the early 1990s including:


Pop Acts

Top 1990s pop acts also played the venue, including Melissa Etheridge, Jewel, Ricky Martin, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Third Eye Blind, The Wallflowers, Everclear, No Doubt, Creed, The Black-Eyed Peas, and Gwen Stefani.

Although legacy hard rock acts like Aerosmith and Rush continued to be big draws in the 1990s and 2000s the headliners at Reunion Arena were often aggressive radio-rock acts like Primus, Korn, Incubus, Pantera, Rob Zombie, Limp Bizkit, Staind, Bush, Blink-182, Marilyn Manson, Godsmack, Kid Rock, Rammstein, System Of A Down, and Tool.

Alternative rock bands including Sonic Youth, Social Distortion, U2, Pixies, Morrissey, Radiohead, Garbage, The Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Alanis Morrissette and PJ Harvey all played Reunion Arena in the 1990s and 2000s.

After the Dallas Stars and Dallas Mavericks moved to American Airlines Center in 2001, that newer and larger venue also began to attract sporting and concert events. In early 2002, Reunion Arena booked engagements including Bob Dylan, *NSYNC, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and Paul McCartney. But the venue fell out of favor with music promoters that summer and went more than two years without a major concert event. The Black-Eyed Peas and Gwen Stefani played on November 11, 2005, the last major act to perform at Reunion Arena.

The final performance at Reunion Arena was Christian hip-hop act Group 1 Crew with Phoenix-based pop-punk group Stellar Kart on June 28, 2008.

Reunion Arena in live recordings and music videos

The music video for Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust" was filmed at Reunion Arena on August 9, 1980.

The video for the Scorpions' "Still Loving You" was filmed at Reunion Arena in 1984.

Mötley Crüe shot the video for "Home Sweet Home" partially at Reunion Arena (exteriors and time lapses) on October 2, 1985. The concert footage was shot two days later at Houston concert venue The Summit.

Judas Priest played June 27, 1986 recording the entire show which parts can be found on the Priest...Live! album. A full concert DVD was released as well. Pink Floyd played three consecutive shows at Reunion in November 1987. Pop songstress Whitney Houston played two sold-out concerts at Reunion in September 1987.

Country music superstar Garth Brooks filmed his first television special, This Is Garth Brooks, in the arena on September 20, 1991. The concert became noteworthy after Brooks and guitarist Ty England smashed two guitars on stage.

Country music star Shania Twain filmed her performance for the Come On Over Tour in the arena on September 12, 1998 and later released on her first DVD, Shania Twain Live.

Frank Sinatra played Reunion Arena three times: in 1984, 1987 and 1989. His October 24, 1987 concert was recorded and released in 2018 as part of the Standing Room Only album.

Metallica's February 5, 1989 show at Reunion Arena was broadcast nationally on FM radio and widely bootlegged. An abbreviated version of this recording was eventually released on CD in 2001 as part of the Fan Can 4 box set.

Other uses

In late 2005, the arena and the Dallas Convention Center were used as the primary Dallas shelters for evacuees of Hurricane Katrina.[12]

Closure and demolition
Reunion Arena, October 2009

After a unanimous vote by the Dallas City Council, Reunion Arena officially closed on June 30, 2008. In August 2008, the council said it would implode the arena if it could find an entity willing to foot the bill. The council hoped for the implosion to be part of a movie scene with the film company picking up the tab for the implosion. When no filmmaker seemed interested, the city decided to demolish it using other methods, a process which took several months.[13]

Demolition was officially completed on November 17, 2009 and the site was completely cleared by the end of the year. Post-demolition, the site has seen little use. In 2011, Prince was to perform as part of Super Bowl XLV-related festivities, but the show was canceled due to inclement weather. And in September 2012, Cirque du Soleil's Koozå took place here. As of October 2013, the adjacent parking garage remained standing and there were no plans for construction on the site.

Former Reunion Arena site today

The Reunion Arena site today is now known as Reunion Park with events throughout the year.

Notable events
  • 1980: Parliament-Funkadelic played the first concert to ever be held at the arena.
  • 1980: Queen performed during The Game Tour on August 9; the music video for their hit song "Another One Bites the Dust" was recorded at the arena.[14]
  • 1982: Ozzy Osbourne performed with guitar virtuoso Randy Rhoads, who was killed in a plane crash less than a month later.
  • 1982: On November 25, singer Linda Ronstadt performed her famous Happy Thanksgiving Day concert, one of the first ever via satellite concerts, by a female solo artist, to be broadcast live on radio stations across the nation.[15]
  • 1982: On December 25 at WCCW Christmas Star Wars, an angle was executed during the Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich cage match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, with Michael Hayes as a referee the match which led to the Von Erich family vs. Fabulous Freebird feud. Astronomical levels of business occurred for the World Class Championship Wrestling promotion during 1983 and 1984 as a result.
  • 1983: The first wrestling sellout, of more than 17,000, was on June 17, headlined by Harley Race vs. Kevin Von Erich for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and Bruiser Brody and Kerry Von Erich vs. Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy (two-thirds of the Fabulous Freebirds).
  • 1983: On November 13 and 14, The Police played two sold-out concerts as part of their Synchronicity Tour.
  • 1984: Black Sabbath played there on their completely sold-out Born Again Tour, with Deep Purple's Ian Gillan on vocals.
  • 1984: Scorpions filmed their video for "Still Loving You".
  • 1985: Phil Collins' No Jacket Required Tour played here. Show was also filmed for video release.
  • 1985: Mötley Crüe's Theatre of Pain Tour stopped here; they filmed their video for "Home Sweet Home".
  • 1986: NCAA men's basketball Final Four and NBA All-Star Game.
  • 1987: Frank Sinatra performed and recorded a show on October 24, featured in his 2018 posthumous live compilation album, Standing Room Only.
  • 1988: Michael Jackson performed three consecutive sold–out shows at Reunion Arena, during his Bad World Tour on April 25–27, 1988.
  • 1988: Prince performed a sold-out show during his Lovesexy Tour on November 29, 1988.
  • 1989: 1989 MISL All-Star Game
  • 1990: Madonna performed two sold-out shows from her Blond Ambition Tour on May 7 and 8.
  • 1991: Garth Brooks tapes his first television special, This Is Garth Brooks!, during a sold-out concert in September. The special airs on NBC in early 1992. It is released on VHS on June 16, 1992 and it is later included as part of the November 2006 DVD release, Garth Brooks – The Entertainer. The concert was notable for Brooks and Ty England smashing two acoustic guitars together.
  • 1993: The first Dallas Stars hockey game was played against the Detroit Red Wings on October 5. The Stars defeated the Red Wings 6-4.
  • 1998: Shania Twain tapes her television special Shania Twain Live, on September 12, which is aired exclusively on DirecTV for free. The special was later released on DVD in November 1999. Three of her music videos were also taken from this performance.
  • 1999: Benny Hinn Miracle Crusade
  • 1999: Games 1, 2, and 5 of the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals were played between the Stars and Buffalo Sabres. The Stars won the cup in Game 6 over the Sabres 2-1 in the third overtime period, but on the road at Buffalo's HSBC Arena.
  • 2000: Games 3, 4, and 6 of the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals were played between the Stars and New Jersey Devils. However, the Devils won the Stanley Cup, defeating the Stars in Game 6, 2-1 in the second overtime period.
  • 2000: WWF Fully Loaded.
  • 2003: Big 12 Conference Women's Post-season Basketball Tournament
  • 2003: NCAA Women's Volleyball Division I Final Four
  • 2004: Big 12 Conference Women's Post-season Basketball Tournament
  • 2006: Big 12 Conference Women's Post-season Basketball Tournament
  • 2007: NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Regional
  • 2008: Reunion Arena closes.
  • 2009: Reunion Arena is demolished.

In other media

In the Walker, Texas Ranger episode "In God's Hands", Texas Rangers Cordell Walker (Chuck Norris), and James "Jimmy" Trivette (Clarence Gilyard), are attending a Stars game at the Reunion Arena when they decide to abandon the game; only to walk out of the arena and witness a robbery of an armored truck.

gollark: Columbus found a greener than usual part of Antarctica, and then the whole North America myth made its way into popular culture as a real thing.
gollark: Yes. North America isn't real.
gollark: Suuuuuure he did.
gollark: I thought it'd be something like a fraction of a second for all of human history.
gollark: Wait, only a billion?

See also

Notes
A.^ The music portion for notable performing acts/groups should be divided up by years and genres if this is going to be done right, at least, in my opinion. Talk page note has also been left for discussion at Talk:Reunion Arena


References
  1. "Dallas Would Welcome NBA Franchise". Odessa American. February 21, 1978. p. 14. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  2. "Reunion Arena". City of Dallas. 2006. Archived from the original on January 5, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  3. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  4. "Arena Is at Foot of Reunion Tower in Dallas' New Convention Complex". Engineering News-Record. 203 (1–13): 24.
  5. "April Up Front". D Magazine. April 1, 1979. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  6. Dallas City Council approved an extension by 84 days, to make the total number of days for demolition to 300. August 12, 2009 Council Minutes.
  7. "Reunion Arena Comes Crashing Down". WFAA. Dallas. November 17, 2009. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  8. "Reunion Arena". Ballparks.com. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  9. https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ronaldreaganecumenicalprayer.htm
  10. https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/research/speeches/82384f
  11. https://cityofdallaspreservation.wordpress.com/2019/02/18/a-look-back-at-past-presidential-visits-to-dallas/
  12. https://www.dallasnews.com/news/curious-texas/2019/01/16/reunion-arena-has-been-gone-for-nearly-10-years-curious-texas-looks-at-why-it-was-demolished/
  13. Levinthal, Dave (August 19, 2008). "Hey filmmakers! Dallas Wants You to Blow Up Reunion Arena and Texas Stadium Both". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  14. 1980 The Game North American Tour Ultimate Queen. Retrieved September 1, 2011
  15. "Linda Ronstadt's promo ad for live Dallas radio concert broadcast". Lindaronstadt.com. Archived from the original on 2007-11-28. Retrieved November 4, 2007.
Preceded by
-		 Home of the
Dallas Mavericks
1980–2001		 Succeeded by
American Airlines Center
Preceded by
Met Center		 Home of the
Dallas Stars
1993–2001		 Succeeded by
American Airlines Center
Preceded by
American Airlines Center		 Home of the
Dallas Desperados
2003		 Succeeded by
American Airlines Center
Preceded by
Rupp Arena		 NCAA Men's Division I
Basketball Tournament
Finals Venue
1986		 Succeeded by
Louisiana Superdome
Preceded by
Hoosier Dome		 Host of the
NBA All-Star Game
1986		 Succeeded by
Kingdome
Preceded by
-		 Home of the
Dallas Stallions (RHI)
1999		 Succeeded by
none
Preceded by
Cotton Bowl		 Home of the
Dallas Tornado
1980–1981		 Succeeded by
none
Preceded by
-		 Home of the
Dallas Sidekicks
1984–2004		 Succeeded by
none
Preceded by
-		 Home of the
Dallas Texans
1990–1993		 Succeeded by
none
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