Home›Places›Dallas, TX›Dallas Sportatorium
Historic place

Dallas Sportatorium

1000 S Industrial Blvd, Dallas, TX

A wrestling arena that hosted a weekly country music show, burned in 1953, and was torn down in 2003.

📅 1935–2003🏛️ StadiumDemolished
Open on the mapSlide back to 1935

The story

The Sportatorium opened on December 9, 1935, at Industrial Boulevard and Cadiz Street. The original octagonal building was built by the Cox Fence Company and seated about 10,000. Burt Willoughby promoted wrestling there until 1940, when Ed McLemore bought the company. From 1948 to 1966 it hosted the Big D Jamboree, a weekly country music show, parts of which aired nationally on CBS Radio.

A fire on May 1, 1953, was rumored to be arson. The arena was rebuilt as a rectangular venue and reopened that September as the Million-Dollar Sportatorium. In 1966 McLemore partnered with wrestler Jack Adkisson, known as Fritz Von Erich, and the promotion became World Class Championship Wrestling. WCCW folded in 1990, and the building later fell into disrepair and was used illegally as shelter by homeless people. It was demolished in 2003.

What's There Now

Industrial Boulevard was renamed Riverfront Boulevard as the land was slated for the Trinity River Project.

Everything that was here

Did you know?

In March 1992 Southwest Airlines chairman Herb Kelleher arm-wrestled Stevens Aviation chairman Kurt Herwald there in a charity stunt over a slogan dispute.
The Global Wrestling Federation used the building from 1991 to 1994 and billed it as the GlobalDome for a time.
The World Famous Sportatorium entrance sign was saved by announcer Doyle King.

Nearby history

Reunion Arena

777 Sports St · 339 m away
The arena where the Mavericks and Stars played for two decades, and where Reagan accepted the 1984 nomination.

Dallas Morning News Building (Young Street)

508 Young St · 652 m away
The newspaper's Young Street complex housed its operations for about six decades before the paper left in 2017.

Dallas Public Library (temporary home)

400 S Houston St · 697 m away
In 1954 the building served as a temporary library while the city built a new central library.

Old Red Courthouse

100 S Houston St · 868 m away
A red sandstone courthouse built after four earlier ones on the site burned.

Dallas County Administration Building

411 Elm St · 931 m away
Dallas County renovated the lower five floors for offices after buying the building in 1977.

The Starck Club

703 McKinney Ave · 1.3 km away
A Philippe Starck-designed nightclub where ecstasy was sold legally over the bar until 1985, with Stevie Nicks among the

Know something about Dallas Sportatorium? An old photo, a date, a memory of what stood here before?

Add it on the map
Sourceshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Sportatorium