Norfolk Scope

Norfolk Scope
Location	201 E.Brambleton Ave Norfolk, VA 23510
Opened	1971
Owner
Construction cost	$28.1 million
Architect	Pier Luigi Nervi
Tenants	Virginia Squires (ABA) (1971-1976) Norfolk Nighthawks (af2) (2000-2003) Norfolk Admirals (AHL) (2000-present)
Capacity	Hockey:8,784 Basketball:10,253 Concerts:13,800

The Norfolk Scope is a 12,600-seat multipurpose arena located on the edge of downtown Norfolk, Virginia. The Norfolk Scope was designed by renowned Italian architect/engineer Pier Luigi Nervi and constructed in 1971 at a cost of $28.1 million USD (approximately $140 million in 2006 USD). The design of the Norfolk Scope is similar to Nervi's Palazzetto dello sport built in 1958 for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Nervi's designs and work with reinforced concrete were pioneering for his day, analogous to the acclaim currently bestowed upon Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. With a concrete monolithic dome measuring 440 ft (134 m) in diameter and a height of 110 ft (33.5 m), the arena encloses 85,000 ft² (7,897 m²). It has a seating capacity of up to 13,800 when configured for concerts and 10,253 for basketball. Norfolk is one of the largest cities in the United States whose largest multi-purpose facility seats less than 11,000 people. The Norfolk Scope is currently home to the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League; the venue seats 8,784 for hockey. In previous years, the Norfolk Scope was home to an arena football team, the Norfolk Nighthawks, the former Norfolk Knights and the now-defunct American Basketball Association (ABA) professional basketball franchise Virginia Squires. The Squires played in the Scope, the Roanoke Civic Center, Richmond Coliseum and Hampton Roads Coliseum (now Hampton Coliseum) – all within the state of Virginia – from 1971 to 1976. The Norfolk Scope also served as host venue of the 1974 ABA All-Star Game. The arena was home to Old Dominion University men's college basketball, until the campus' own 8,639-seat (basketball) arena, the Ted Constant Convocation Center, opened in Norfolk in October 2002.

Contents 1 Memorable events 1.1 Concerts 1.2 Wrestling 1.3 Basketball 1.4 Boxing 1.5 Other events 2 External links

Memorable events

Concerts

• The Jackson 5 – February 7 1972
• The Rolling Stones – July 6, 1972
• Yes - November 9, 1972
• Elton John – November 13, 1972, December 13, 1972, and November 14, 2003
• Neil Young - January 29, 1973
• David Bowie – July 7 1974 and March 12 1976
• Elvis Presley – July 20 1975 (two shows on the same date)
• Eric Clapton – August 30 1975
• Grateful Dead - April 3 1982
• Prince – March 8 1983
• Aerosmith - March 22 1986
• Ray Charles – June 12 1993
• Rod Stewart – January 28 2007

Wrestling

• WCW Starrcade – 1988 & 1991
• WCW World War 3 – 1995 & 1996
• WWE Great American Bash – 2004
• The Scope is also famous in professional wrestling for hosting the edition of WCW Monday Nitro which was invaded by rival company WWF's D-Generation X stable.

Basketball

• 1974 American Basketball Association All-Star Game
  • 7th Annual ABA All-Star Game - January 30, 1974
    • East 128, West 112
    • Attendance: 10,624
    • Most Valuable Player: Artis Gilmore
• NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, also known as the Women's Final Four
  • 1982 (Inaugural Tournament) – March 29 1982
    • Louisiana Tech 76, Cheyney University 62
    • Attendance: 9,531
    • Most Outstanding Player: Janice Lawrence
  • 1983 tournament – April 3 1983
    • University of Southern California 69, Louisiana Tech 67
    • Attendance: 7,387
    • Most Outstanding Player: Cheryl Miller

Boxing

• Larry Holmes against Eric "Butterbean" Esch (Holmes' last heavyweight fight) – 2002

Other events

In addition to the above events, the Scope was also a site for the Worldwide Church of God's annual celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles in the 1980s and early 1990s. Upwards of 6,000 people attended the eight-day event in Norfolk each fall. Evangelist Herbert W. Armstrong spoke at the event on several occasions in the early 1980s. On Saturday December 8th 2007 the Stanley Cup made its way to the Scope for the first time. Where the Norfolk Admirals played the Wilkes/Barre Scranton Penguins that same night.

External links

• www.sevenvenues.com
• Norfolk Scope Official Site
• Photos Palazzetto dello sport 1958 District Flaminio, Rome, Italy.

•  • e Current arenas in the American Hockey League
Eastern Conference	Arena at Harbor Yard · Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena · Cumberland County Civic Center · DCU Center · Dunkin' Donuts Center · GIANT Center · XL Center · MassMutual Center · Norfolk Scope · Times Union Center · Tsongas Arena · Verizon Wireless Arena · Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza · Wachovia Spectrum
Western Conference	Allstate Arena · AT&T Center · Blue Cross Arena · Bradley Center · Carver Arena · Copps Coliseum · i wireless Center · MTS Centre · Quicken Loans Arena · Ricoh Coliseum · Rockford MetroCentre · Toyota Center · Van Andel Arena · War Memorial at Oncenter · Wells Fargo Arena