Grady Cole Center is a small civic center located on the campus of Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 3,000 seat center is located near the city's center, and can host several types of events. It was built in 1954 to replace the Charlotte Armory Auditorium, which had been destroyed by fire. Originally the Charlotte Park Center, it was renamed in 1987 in honor of WBT Radio morning personality, Grady Cole. The arena is a part of the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex, which also includes the American Legion Memorial Stadium.
On September 25, 1960, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at the Park Center after an invitation from the local NAACP chapter. He had been invited to speak in Charlotte in 1958; however, he suffered a stabbing in New York that canceled his visit.[2]
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Grady Cole center served as the practice facility for the Charlotte Hornets.
Due to increasing demands & needs of touring productions in the late 1970s and early 1980s, a local regional promoter Kaleidoscope Productions paid to install the additional electrical service Company switches for tours in the city's owned building, to save money from having to continue renting generators to supply the additional power from an ongoing per concert/event basis.
^"A History Note: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Visits Charlotte | J. Murrey Atkins Library | UNC Charlotte".
^Povey, Glenn; Russell, Ian (1997). Pink Floyd: In the Flesh - The Complete Performance History (1st ed.). London: Bloomsbury. p. 128. ISBN9780747532934.
grady, cole, center, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, july, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Grady Cole Center news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2018 Learn how and when to remove this message Grady Cole Center is a small civic center located on the campus of Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte North Carolina The 3 000 seat center is located near the city s center and can host several types of events It was built in 1954 to replace the Charlotte Armory Auditorium which had been destroyed by fire Originally the Charlotte Park Center it was renamed in 1987 in honor of WBT Radio morning personality Grady Cole The arena is a part of the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex which also includes the American Legion Memorial Stadium Grady Cole CenterExterior view of the venue c 2015 Former namesCharlotte Park Center 1956 87 Address310 North Kings DriveLocationCharlotte North CarolinaPublic transitCPCC Central CampusOwnerCity of CharlotteOperatorMecklenburg CountyCapacity3 000OpenedJuly 16 1956TenantsCharlotte Roller Girls WFTDA 2010 present Queens Royals SAC 2012 Noted events edit nbsp Cheap Trick at Charlotte N C s Park Center Grady Cole Center 1978 TV Superman George Reeves and a troupe including Noel Neill Gene Lebell Chaz Chase and The Florida Trio performed two shows at the center on August 31 1957 1 On September 25 1960 Martin Luther King Jr spoke at the Park Center after an invitation from the local NAACP chapter He had been invited to speak in Charlotte in 1958 however he suffered a stabbing in New York that canceled his visit 2 The building was an important venue for Jim Crockett Promotions during the organization s heyday 1 In the late 1980s and early 1990s the Grady Cole center served as the practice facility for the Charlotte Hornets Due to increasing demands amp needs of touring productions in the late 1970s and early 1980s a local regional promoter Kaleidoscope Productions paid to install the additional electrical service Company switches for tours in the city s owned building to save money from having to continue renting generators to supply the additional power from an ongoing per concert event basis The arena hosted UFC 3 in 1994 Concerts held in the arena include The Allman Brothers with Duane Allman Frank Zappa Black Sabbath Bootsy Collins and James Gang in 1972 Pink Floyd in 1973 3 David Bowie in 1974 Cheap Trick in 1978 Ozzy Osbourne in 1991 as well as shows by Dire Straits Rush Frehley s Comet Stevie Ray Vaughan R E M Warrant in the 1980s The 1990s saw shows from Megadeth Testament Dave Matthews Band Phish Widespread Panic Marilyn Manson August 5 1994 Counting Crows September 26th 1996 Beck with opening act Dirty Three December 6 1996 Tool and with Jan 31st 1998 the venue hosted Judas Priest as well as Coldplay in 2003 and Good Charlotte and Simple Plan in 2005 The venue hosted multiple Rave dance parties with national and international touring DJs The arena hosted the 2007 CIAA women s volleyball tournament The arena also hosted the Internet only pay per view ROH The Big Bang on April 3 2010 The arena was home to Barstool s Rough N Rowdy 3 in 2018 Queens University of Charlotte has used the arena for athletic events in 2012 while construction work is done on their usual on campus home External links editVenue InformationReferences edit Charlotte NC Observer 25 August 1957 A History Note Dr Martin Luther King Jr Visits Charlotte J Murrey Atkins Library UNC Charlotte Povey Glenn Russell Ian 1997 Pink Floyd In the Flesh The Complete Performance History 1st ed London Bloomsbury p 128 ISBN 9780747532934 Events and tenants Preceded byMammoth Gardens Ultimate Fighting Championship venueUFC 3 Succeeded byExpo Square Pavilion 35 13 06 N 80 49 42 W 35 2182 N 80 8283 W 35 2182 80 8283 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Grady Cole Center amp oldid 1185479569, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
