Reunion Arena was an indoor arena in the Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas (USA). The arena held 17,300 for basketball and 17,000 for ice hockey.

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History

Reunion Arena was completed in 1980 at a cost of $27 million. ^[1] It was named for the early mid-nineteenth century commune, La Reunion. In late 2005, the arena and the Dallas Convention Center were used as the primary Dallas shelters for evacuees of Hurricane Katrina. In 1994, President Bill Clinton visited the arena to watch his beloved University of Arkansas basketball team play in the NCAA Tournament.

Reunion Arena hosted the WCT Tennis Tournament in the 1980s, including The Virginia Slims Invitational Tournament. Due to scheduling conflicts in 1984, the Virginia Slims Tournament forced the Dallas Mavericks to play Game 5 of their first ever playoff series at Moody Coliseum, against the Seattle SuperSonics. While Southern Methodist University competed in the Southwest Conference, Reunion Arena was known by University of Arkansas Razorbacks fans, as Barnhill South, due to the big following by the Arkansas fans away from home, the Barnhill Arena was the home to all UA games until 1993.

About

The arena also hosted numerous concerts and other events. The rock band Journey played three consecutive shows at the arena in April 1983 and in December 1986, Van Halen played three shows in June 1984 and Pink Floyd played three consecutive shows at Reunion on November, 1987. Also, Reunion was a venue that was frequently used by World Class Championship Wrestling in the 1980s, in which the promotion held many, if not all of their bi-monthly Star Wars events.The arena featured 30,000 ft² (2,790 m²) of arena floor space and had great sightlines, making it ideal for a number of events and games, including many high school graduations. Country music superstar Garth Brooks filmed his first television special, This Is Garth Brooks , in the arena during two sold-out concerts in September 1991, and country music superstar Shania Twain once performed her Come on Over Tour in the arena on September 12, 1998 and was filmed in her first DVD released Shania Twain Live .

Home teams

The arena's last remaining full-time sports tenant was the MISL Dallas Sidekicks, but the club has been inactive since the Fall of 2004 season. The arena was the home of the Dallas Mavericks from 1980 to 2001 and the Dallas Stars from 1993 to 2001. Both teams moved to the American Airlines Center in 2001.

Closure

After a unanimous vote by the Dallas City Council, Reunion Arena officially closed on June 30, 2008. ^[2] It is expected to be demolished beginning in March 2009. ^[3]

Possible Implosion

In August 2008 the Dallas City Council said it would implode the stadium if it could find an entity willing to foot the bill. Plans from the council call for the implosion to be part of a movie scene with the film company picking up the tab for the implosion. ^[4]

Events

• 1982: On November 25, 1982 singer Linda Ronstadt performed her famous Happy Thanksgiving Day concert, one of the first ever via satellite concerts by a female solo artist to be broadcast live on radio stations across the nation. ^[5]
• 1984: Republican National Convention
• 1986: NCAA men's basketball Final Four and NBA All-Star Game.
• 1988: Michael Jackson performing three sell-out concerts with an attendance of 20,000 during his record breaking Bad World Tour
• 1989: 1989 MISL All-Star Game
• 1990: Madonna performed for the last time in Dallas here at Reunion Arena while on her Blond Ambition Tour.
• 1999: Benny Hinn Miracle Crusade
• 2000: WWF Fully Loaded.
• 2000: WCW Monday Nitro featuring WarGames match called Russo's revenge.
• 2003: Big 12 Conference Women's Post-season Basketball Tournament
• 2003: NCAA Women's Volleyball Division I Final Four
• 2004: Big 12 Conference Women's Post-season Basketball Tournament
• 2006: Big 12 Conference Women's Post-season Basketball Tournament
• 2007: NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Regional
• 2008: Reunion Arena closes.

References

1. BallParks.com - Reunion Arena. Retrieved 25 October 2006.
2. The Dallas Morning News - Reunion Arena officially closes
3. The Dallas Morning News - Dallas City Hall document: Reunion Arena to be demolished beginning in March 2009
4. The Dallas Morning News - Reunion Arena could be imploded
5. Billboard Magazine