Carolina Coliseum

Carolina Coliseum is a 12,401-seat multi-purpose arena in Columbia, South Carolina, built in 1968 by the University of South Carolina. The Coliseum was the largest arena in South Carolina at the time of its completion. It was the home of the USC men's and women's basketball teams for many years as well as Columbia's main events venue until 2002, when the Colonial Life Arena (originally named Carolina Center), opened a block away on Greene Street. The Coliseum was once home to the Columbia Inferno hockey team, a franchisee of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), until poor ticket sales caused the Inferno to leave. Team plans to build and move to another venue did not materialize.The facility is also home to university classrooms with classes held in the lower levels. The high school commencement ceremonies of many high schools in the South Carolina Midlands are held annually in the arena as many school venues are too small for such ceremonies.Prior to the building of the Coliseum, the Gamecocks had played in Carolina Fieldhouse from 1927 until it burned in 1968, and the Carolina Gymnasium (now the Longstreet Theater) prior to that.The Coliseum was the host of the NCAA Basketball Tournament East Regional in 1970. Until 2002, when Greenville's Bi-Lo Center served as host, it was the only time the tournament was played in South Carolina. The Metro Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held here in 1989.