Editing Richfield Coliseum (section)

{{Short description|Arena in Ohio, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{use American English|date=January 2024}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox venue 
| stadium_name        = Richfield Coliseum
| nickname            = The Palace on the Prairie<ref>{{cite news |title=Remembering the Richfield Coliseum: From 1974 to 1994, 'The Palace on the Prairie' was Northeast Ohio's sports, entertainment mecca |url=http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2014/09/remembering_the_coliseum_at_ri.html |author=Chakerian, Peter |date=September 24, 2014 |newspaper=[[The Plain Dealer]] |access-date=December 10, 2015}}</ref>
| logo_image          = Coliseumlogo.PNG
| logo_size           = 125px
| image               = AERIAL VIEW OF THE COLISEUM BUILT NEAR INTERSTATE 271 SOUTH OF CLEVELAND, OHIO. FARMS NEAR THE STRUCTURE EVENTUALLY... - NARA - 558054.jpg
| image_size          = 250px
| caption             = Aerial view of the Coliseum and neighboring farms in 1975
| address             = 2923 Streetsboro Road
| location            = [[Richfield Township, Summit County, Ohio|Richfield Township, Ohio]]
| coordinates         = {{coord|41|14|43|N|81|35|38|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| broke_ground        = March 16, 1973
| opened              = October 26, 1974<ref name="figures">[http://www.inherentmirth.com/index.php/the-richfield-coliseum The Richfield Coliseum]</ref>
| closed              = September 24, 1994<ref name="figures"/>
| demolished          = March–May 1999
| owner               = Gund Business Enterprises, Inc.
| operator            = Gund Business Enterprises, Inc.
| construction_cost   = US$36 million<ref name="figures"/><br><small>(${{formatprice|{{Inflation|US|36000000|1973}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}})</small>
| architect           = George E. Ross Architects, Inc.<ref>{{cite news |title=Levin Serious About New Arena for Hub|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19770512&id=2qgrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Ff0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=3607,2231760|newspaper=[[United Press International]]|date=May 12, 1977|access-date=March 28, 2012}}</ref>
| former_names        = 
| tenants             = [[Cleveland Crusaders]] ([[World Hockey Association|WHA]]) (1974–1976)<br>[[Cleveland Cavaliers]] ([[National Basketball Association|NBA]]) (1974–1994)<br>[[Cleveland Nets]] ([[World TeamTennis|WTT]]) (1975–1977)<br>[[Cleveland Barons (NHL)|Cleveland Barons]] ([[National Hockey League|NHL]]) (1976–1978)<br>[[Cleveland Force (1978–88)|Cleveland Force]] ([[Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–92)|MISL]]) (1978–1988)<br>[[Cleveland Crunch]] (MISL) (1989–1992)<br>[[Cleveland Lumberjacks]] ([[International Hockey League (1945–2001)|IHL]]) (1992–1994)<br>[[Cleveland Thunderbolts]] ([[Arena Football League|AFL]]) (1992–1994)
| seating_capacity    = [[Basketball]]: 20,273<br>[[Ice hockey]]: 18,544 
}}
'''Richfield Coliseum''', also known as '''the Coliseum at Richfield''', was an indoor [[arena]] located in [[Richfield Township, Summit County, Ohio|Richfield Township]], between [[Cleveland]] and [[Akron, Ohio]]. It opened in 1974 as a replacement for the [[Cleveland Arena]], and had a [[seating capacity]] of 20,273 for basketball. It was the main arena for the [[Northeast Ohio]] region until 1994, when it was replaced by [[Rocket Arena|Gund Arena]] (now Rocket Arena) in [[downtown Cleveland]]. The Coliseum stood vacant for five years before it was purchased and demolished in 1999 by the [[National Park Service]]. The site of the building was converted to a [[meadow]] and is now part of [[Cuyahoga Valley National Park]].

The arena was primarily the home to the [[Cleveland Cavaliers]] of the [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA), developed by Cavaliers owner [[Nick Mileti]], who also owned the [[Cleveland Crusaders]] of the [[World Hockey Association]]. Over the years it had additional tenants such as the [[Cleveland Barons (NHL)|Cleveland Barons]] of the [[National Hockey League]], [[Cleveland Force (1978–88)|Cleveland Force]] of [[Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992)|Major Indoor Soccer League]], [[Cleveland Crunch]] of [[Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008)|Major Indoor Soccer League]], the [[Cleveland Lumberjacks]] of the [[International Hockey League (1945–2001)|International Hockey League]], and the [[Cleveland Thunderbolts]] of the [[Arena Football League]]. 

It hosted the [[1981 NBA All-Star Game]]; [[Michael Dokes vs. Gerrie Coetzee|The Buckeye Homecoming]], the 1983 professional boxing match between [[Michael Dokes]] and [[Gerrie Coetzee]]; and the 1985 MISL All Star Game. It was also the site of the March 24, 1975 boxing match between [[Muhammad Ali]] and [[Chuck Wepner]], which in part inspired the movie ''[[Rocky]]''.<ref>[http://wepner.homestead.com/ Chuck Wepner's official website]. Retrieved January 12, 2008.</ref>

The Coliseum was a regular concert venue, with its first event being a concert by [[Frank Sinatra]]. The first rock concert at the Richfield Coliseum, in October 1974, featured [[Stevie Wonder]] in October 1974.<ref>Scott, Jane. "Stevie Wonder rocks Coliseum" ''The Plain Dealer'' October 29, 1974: B2</ref> The last concert was by [[Roger Daltrey]], in 1994; that was also the last official event at the arena.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Norman |first=Michael |date=2014-09-25 |title=Richfield Coliseum swan song was Roger Daltrey performing at tribute to The Who |url=https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2014/09/richfield_coliseum_swan_song_w.html |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=Cleveland.com |language=en}}</ref>