The Colonial Life Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Columbia, South Carolina, primarily home to the University of South Carolina men's and women's basketball teams. Opened as a replacement for the Carolina Coliseum with the name Carolina Center in 2002, the 18,000-seat arena is also host to various events like conferences, concerts, and graduation ceremonies throughout the year. It is the largest arena in the state of South Carolina and the eighth largest campus college arena.
The naming rights were acquired in 2003 by Unum, a Portland, Maineâ€"based insurance company, and it was renamed to the Colonial Center after the Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company, a Unum subsidiary headquartered in Columbia. On July 22, 2008, the USC board approved renaming the building to the Colonial Life Arena as part of the rebranding by Unum (which by then had moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee) of Colonial Life & Accident as Colonial Life.
History and use
Gamecock Confidential: Colonial Life Arena Changeover - Go inside the hard work that goes into getting Colonial Life Arena ready for basketball games with big events and concerts less than 24 hours before.
The arena first opened on November 22, 2002, with the season opener of the South Carolina women's basketball team. A near sell-out crowd of 17,712 fans saw the 72â€"58 Gamecocks victory over in-state rival Clemson, with a one-dollar admission charge, at that time commonly used by the women's basketball team to promote major games. The official grand opening took place December 2, 2002. The men's basketball team defeated Temple 66â€"47. On January 26, 2010 South Carolina defeated #1 ranked and undefeated Kentucky 68-62 in the arena, one of the biggest wins in South Carolina history.
Aside from Gamecock basketball, the Colonial Life Arena also hosts the South Carolina High School Basketball Championships each year. The facility is built to also host ice hockey games, and was intended to be the new home of the ECHL's Columbia Inferno. However, due to legal issues with the funding for the facility, the Inferno never played there. The franchise suspended operations in 2008, but after plans for a new arena in neighboring Lexington County fell through, the franchise was finally canceled in 2014.
The Colonial Life Arena was ranked 22nd in the world in ticket sales in 2003. It was also ranked the #1 arena in the Carolinas and was the #2 rated university arena in the world in 2005, based on ticket sales for touring shows.
It is managed by Spectra (formerly Global Spectrum), the facilities management subsidiary of Comcast Spectacor. The NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, then owned by Comcast Spectacor, played an exhibition game in the venue in October 2005.
In 2007, it was home to the Columbia Stingers of the National Indoor Football League. The arena has hosted the Charlotte Bobcats and New York Knicks in the past.
The venue, like all Comcast-Spectator managed facilities, has its own ticketing policy, and therefore concerts are not controlled by the major ticketing industry firms.
Ticketing is provided by New Era Tickets, and tickets can be purchased through the Arena's web site.
Non-basketball events
Other events held at the Arena have included Disney on Ice, High School Musical: The Concert, Sesame Street, American Idols Live! & Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus (until 2017), and WWE Raw.
Concerts
Artists that have performed at the arena over the past 16 years include: Red Hot Chili Peppers twice (in 2012 and 2017), The Eagles, Cher, Billy Joel, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band (who played the first ever show at the Arena in Nov. 2002), Prince & The New Power Generation twice (in '04 and in 2011), Pearl Jam twice (first with Kings of Leon in 2008, and in 2016), Jimmy Buffett twice (in '04 and in 2010), Shania Twain, Britney Spears in '04, Def Leppard with Foreigner, Journey with Steve Miller Band, Aerosmith in '04, Cheap Trick, John Mayer in 2007, Taylor Swift four times (with Rascal Flatts in '08, '10, with Needtobreathe in 2011, with Ed Sheeran in '13), Usher in '11 with Akon, R. Kelly four times, Kanye West in '04, B2K, Jamie Foxx, Lil Jon, Soulja Boy, T.I., Lil Wayne, Jason Aldean in '14, Thomas Rhett, Florida Georgia Line, Carrie Underwood a few times (once in 2010), Craig Morgan, Miley Cyrus and Metro Station in '09, Justin Bieber in '13, Bruno Mars in '14, Maroon 5 twice (in '16 w/Tove Lo), Mötley Crüe, Darius Rucker twice (in '14 and '17), Lee Brice in '13, Eric Church in '12, James Taylor in '15, Kenny Chesney a few times (once in '15), Blake Shelton with Luke Bryan in '10, Zac Brown Band in '12, Drake with Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd w/Gucci Mane in 2017, Chris Brown in '14, Trey Songz, Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Coolio, Skillet, Nickelback with Chevelle in 2006, and the Foo Fighters with The Struts in 2017, among others.
Britney Spears 2004 The Onyx Hotel Tour
Taylor Swift 2011 Speak Now World Tour
Drake 2012 Club Paradise Tour
Nickelback 2006 All The Right Reasons Tour
Pearl Jam 2008 Pearl Jam 2008 United States Tour
Aerosmith 2004 Honkin' on Bobo Tour
Elton John 2005 Peachtree Road Tour
On June 25, 2015, Paul McCartney performed at the Colonial Life Arena as part of his 2015 Out There (tour). The June 25 show was Paul's first performance in Columbia since he played Williams-Brice Stadium on May 7, 1993 as part of his New World Tour.
Other events
The University of South Carolina holds most of its commencement exercises in the Colonial Life Arena. The first commencement speaker for ceremonies at the Colonial Center was President George W. Bush in 2003.
On June 28, 2007, selected contestants from Dancing With The Stars performed dances, as part of their summer tour.
On December 9, 2007, a rally for Barack Obama was scheduled to be held at the arena. Because the rally also featured Oprah Winfrey, tickets to the event sold out days before the rally. The rally was eventually moved to nearby Williams-Brice Stadium.
See also
- List of NCAA Division I basketball arenas
- List of indoor arenas in the United States
References
External links
- Colonial Life Arena Home Page
- Gamecocks Home Page
- Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company
- Map: 33°59′42″N 81°02′14″W