Former location of the Richfield Coliseum and site of Michael Jordan's 69-point game and "The Shot."
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- Опубліковано 20 тра 2020
- This is the former location of where the Richfield Coliseum once stood. The Coliseum was home to the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1974-1994 and was demolished in 1999. The land is now part of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and the area is now a grassland meadow known for bird watching. There are no historical markers or memorials on the land commemorating the Coliseum, and many people pass by the site every day never knowing an NBA facility once stood there. However, there are a few hidden secrets remaining to pinpoint exactly where the Coliseum stood on this track of land, and I'll point some of them out in this video.
I grew up not far from this area and attended many, many events in the Coliseum, mainly in the late 1980's and early 1990's. I've seen basketball games, soccer games, concerts, ATV races and monster truck shows in the venue. But for me, the Coliseum will always be known as the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the place many NBA teams and players came to play against the Cavs. On March 28, 1990 (my birthday), I was at the Coliseum for the Chicago Bulls game that Michael Jordan scored 69 points in (his all-time, career-high scoring performance). It was a game I'll never forget and will remain a long-lasting memory and connection for me to the Richfield Coliseum.
My UA-cam channel mainly consists of current athletic venues (primarily college football stadiums) and places that were used as movie locations. But I've also started branching out a little to try and show where some former locations of venues that no longer exist once stood. Sometimes there are remains or markers of where the facilities were, but as in the case of the Coliseum, sometimes there is hardly a trace remaining.
The main purpose of this video is to shed a little light and info about the former home of the Cavs, and to show exactly where the Coliseum stood in this grassland meadow. I also point out other signs of the past that still remain on the site if you know where to look, while also sharing a few personal memories as well.
* Some digital images were used as Fair Use for educational purposes for this video.
Come See With Me - Спорт
Great job. I just found myself here in 2024 reminiscing about those good old days. Your video hit the spot. Thank you.
Thank you!
Grew up two states away but cavs were nearest team. Dad took us in a station wagon to see Cavs Knicks weekend afternoon game, two very good teams, I think 1989. It was so weird seeing stadium rise out of farmland. Simpler times
It was a very unique place for a pro arena, no question. I think it’s even harder to believe for those who never saw it when it was there to visualize it sitting in that location now that it’s gone. Heck, it’s even a little strange for me and I was in it many times.
Thanks for taking the time to make this. So many memories of this place. I grew up about 30 minutes south of here. Went to countless concerts and sporting events in the late 70's- early 80's. One of my memories that my kids cant believe, is that the Cavs had such poor attendance that they offered a free $5 ticket in their program. I assume their thought was that a family would get a free ticket and then purchase 2-3 more for that game. My friends and I would pool money for gas and go to the game. At the end of the game we would scrounge around for programs that people left behind and tear out the ticket coupons. We would go to the ticket office and turn them in for four tickets to the next game and repeat. It must have been the 81-82 season. So, I consider myself a season ticket holder. No money for food or drinks, so we never really spent a dime. Can't recall if parking was free. I think they were happy to have some warm bodies in the stands.
Another memory in the huge ramp in the NE corner of the building that went down to the basement / locker room level. We would go down there to get autographs as the opposing teams came out and boarded the busses. The busses would back down the ramp, but you had access to the players between the building door and the front of the bus. Most would sign. It is funny to think back how there was virtually no security. Everybody just behaved themselves.
Thanks Again!
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for sharing some of your experiences there. I always enjoy hearing other people’s experiences from the places I film.
@@ComeSeeWithMe I forgot to add...Go Falcons! Class of '87
I saw my first concert there. Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. 1981
I love the interior of richfield coliseum
It was a nice venue for the general seating areas, especially the upper level because since there weren’t any lower level suites, that entire section was much lower than upper level sections nowadays. I miss that place.
Great video! Dad and I went to nearly every Cleveland Force game there. They were such a fun team to watch play. Soccer not for everyone but you definitely got your money's worth with them. My first visit there was in 1975, forget the month, but it was for the Ringling Bros circus.
Thanks for sharing that info.
Thanks for sharing. The Coliseum’s exterior resembles old the San Diego Sports Arena, which actually is still standing today.
Also, the 200 level seats of the Coliseum reminds me of the Los Angeles Sports Arena. I saw a couple of Clipper games there.
Great video!!!! I used to live in Columbus and made it to 1 Cavs game at the Coliseum. It was on May 7, 1989....yes it was vs the Bulls...and yes it was "THE SHOT". I figured I was cursed and have never been to an NBA game since. Living in San Diego now, I do need to see LeBron before he retires....Go Cavs...Go Browns...Go Tribe...Go Bucks!
Thanks for sharing that!
I just want to thank you. You did an amazing job showing where everything was. I was so fascinated seeing this wonderful footage. I been by this so many times but never knew where the land marks were. I'm so glad that you got to go on your birthday and still have the ticket stub. Placing it on a little bush.. classy. Wow, it hit me when you said, the coliseum grave. So much history you knew, I'm very impressed. Thank you very much doing this.
Thank you very much, I appreciate it!
Thank you for the history of Richfield Coliseum. I saw a few Cavs games there and my first Kiss concert in1976. I remember it was like a blizzard that night and was a nightmare driving home. Good memories of my youth. Gary Vasitas
Cool video man. This would've been a cool place to go to. I'm a wrestling and the first few Survivor Series were held here. I like how you went to the field and gave great detail man.
Thank you. I enjoyed going to this arena, I can’t believe it was only open for 20 years. I saw a lot of cool events in it but Michael Jordan’s 69-point game was definitely the highlight. It’s sort of surreal to go back there now and see it. Even though I was there for events myself it’s still somewhat hard to envision what once stood there. I often wonder about the number of people who pass by it every day and have no idea how much different things were there no so long ago. I especially think that because of how it’s just a natural space now. Had the Coliseum been torn down and the area had been re-developed with something else, some sort of buildings would occupy the area and it would seem like a natural developmental progression. The fact that it went back to its natural state makes it seem so much more surreal IMO. But I like that about it, it kind of gives the area a unique mystique
Saw my childhood hero play there in 1987 … Larry bird … and also my first concert Bryan Adams waking up the world tour in 1992
I think journey performed here in 1986.
In addition to being the home of the Cavs and Jordan and the Bulls torching the Cavs thrice, the Coliseum also hosted concerts, circus and WWF events like the 1987, 1988 and 1992 Survivor Series, where fans watched Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, who were the top stars in WWF (now WWE) at the time.
muhammad ali faught here in the first major boxing match in cleveland since 1931
Yep.
It may not look like much, but those grassy acres are special! After demolishing the Coliseum, they threw down some topsoil and grass seed. The original plan by the NPS was to let the area just revert to its natural state (forest). But then they noticed that rare and threatened grassland bird species were moving in and breeding. So they're trying to actively maintain the area as a grasslands. It's been designated an "Important Bird Area" by the National Audubon Society.
Thanks for video the last time I remember being here was for the circus
Thanks. I can’t remember my last event there. If I had to guess it was probably a Cavs game.
I've been to this place and what is now known as Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse...... Aside from location, as far as a being a place to watch and enjoy the game or event, the replacement arena was (and still is) a major downgrade...... How the place got funded and built forever soured me on Cleveland sports.
The best thing about the Richfield Coliseum is it’s the site of Larry Bird’s last game.
In the 1993 NBA playoffs the Cavs beat the Celtics here 4 - 2, when they had Larry and Reggie Lewis.
Very cool. I didn’t realize that. Thanks for the info.
It was a great building, my favorite of all 3 of the Cavalier's home arenas (I actually saw a game as a kid in the old Cleveland Arena). The rationale for building it in "the middle of nowhere" (hope I'm not insulting locals) was that it was "Within an hour's drive for 6 million people". The problem with that is that it was an hour's drive for EVERY ONE of them. You had to plan a trip to the Coliseum. There was no "walk-up crowd", nobody that decided to go at the last minute. Shame.
That’s cool that you saw a game in Cleveland Arena. I miss the Coliseum. Sure it and the location had their issues, but it was a good venue to see the Cavs play in. Thanks for sharing that info.
Excellent! Oh' the many nights I made memories there....millions made memories.
If you superimpose the pic of the coliseum from Wiki or ggl images, over the field you can see the field around the perimeter of the huge parking lot. It would be a great adventure going around it with a metal detector! I live in Southern Ohio now, but I encourage others to go treasure hunting and post it on UA-cam.
Awesome video. Brought back great memories of my younger years. Saw 8 Cavs games there and they went 8-0 in those games. First seats I sat in for a Cavs game were the seats behind the basket right by the Atlanta Hawks bench. That was December of 1986. My 14 year old eyes were as big as saucers when the usher guided us to our seats(Dating myself a little. Lol.)
I know what you mean. My grandma took me to my first pro game, which happened to be an MLB game at Three Rivers Stadium to see the Pirates and Phillies play. I’ll never forget the rush and feeling of being a young kid, walking through the portal to our seats and seeing inside that stadium as it came into view. It was mesmerizing! Such a cool moment when you’re that age and one I’ll never forget.
@@ComeSeeWithMe , I saw a few games at Three Rivers Stadium myself. I didn't see my first game there till I was 17 when the Pirates hosted the Cubs. My cousin and uncle were in from out of town and my cousin likes the Cubs so we went down to Three Rivers Stadium to see them play the Pirates. I remember thinking how much brighter Three Rivers was then Cleveland Stadium and I loved going to the Stadium. It was even a rainy day that day and it still seemed brighter at Three Rivers.
Absolutely fantastic. Thankyou very much for this. Wow, I had no idea this was torn down. This place was legendary. Lots of great concerts and sporting events. Fantastic video!!
Thanks, and you’re welcome.
Thank you very much for posting...went to many a concert back in the day.
You’re welcome
God damn, I LOVE THIS KIND OF STUFF! Great video, dude.
Thanks man! Appreciate it.
people in the 80s didnt need an arena district or all the extra garbage all these arenas have today. we went see a game or concert and that was all we needed
Great video on the site of the former Richfield Coliseum. Not sure if you know but it was the site of the first ever WWF Survivor Series PPV. It would be cool if someone would find the inside and outside corners of the building to mark them.
I wasn’t aware of that, but thanks for the info.
The road you called a private entrance wasn't private it was the Miller road entrance used that entrance most visits. The blocked it off on both ends when it closed.
Great video. I also saw the Bulls there. Not the same game as you but amazing memories.
Home of the WWF Survivor Series.
Man, that is a birthday you will never forget. lol. That was a great story.
You got that right! I knew I was in store for a good show, but never imagined it would be Jordan’s all-time, career-high scoring performance!
I use to watch the Force play in the 80's, does anyone remember a cute vintage like soda shop on the top level with a jukebox? I am looking for pics 😊
this is so freaking cool. i live in middleburg hts but i need to go out there soon and see this
Thanks!
I also did a video the other day about several other former Cleveland sports venues that you might find interesting. Part of it has a cut of this Coliseum video in it but it also includes League Park, Cleveland Arena and Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Here’s the link: ua-cam.com/video/eTlMhoGaK-0/v-deo.html
By the way...cool story about getting the tickets.
Really cool.
Thanks!
BGSU33 I’ve wanted to do something like this for Yankees Stadium for a while now. Btw, that was a cool personal experience, you never forget things like that.
You should totally do something on Yankee Stadium! I’d love to see that. Isn’t there a rec park or something on the site now? I never had a chance to see it before they tore it down. I love the old-school ballparks. Don’t get me wrong, the new ones are nice, but nothing tops the old-school venues IMO. I’ve been to games at Fenway and Wrigley and both offer things you can’t replicate with new ones. Not to mention the history.
Here’s a link I did for former stadium locations on Pittsburgh:
ua-cam.com/video/VnjYLRCKHLs/v-deo.html
They actually have a number of things remaining around the city in Pittsburgh which was cool. I’ll be doing another on Cleveland with the former downtown sites in a few days.
BGSU33 I couldn’t agree with you more... Yes, and I don’t think they even placed a monument at the sight.. It could have became a museum that many people would have visited over and over. Instead they put in a park which is not a bad idea but I don’t think it gets used much because it’s right next door to the stadium. Oops smh.... My wife and I have been to 11 stadiums. Fenway twice but I’ve not hit wrigley yet, she has haha. I really want to go to Chicago. I’m going buck wild when I’m in town.
Nice job on the video, really enjoyed it, almost felt like a funeral. We use to work out at the gym upstairs near the loge level, and play basketball on the upstairs practice courts.
That’s cool you got to see other parts of the arena like that. I always heard about those basketball courts but never saw them. Thanks for sharing.
The King was there in 1975 and 1976.
How about a video featuring Detroit? The former location of Olympia Stadium, Tiger Stadium, Joe Louis Arena .
Those were pretty good seats you had I remember those were right at well almost Center Court but up high. I love that Arena I remember Survivor series being there a couple times I hate sports for this reason Arena's being 20 years old and considered ancient. So they must be demolished and built brand new costing everybody money the city the taxpayers and then do stadiums are demolished not salvaged to become anything useful. I'm born and raised in Buffalo New York Die Hard Buffalo Bill's Buffalo Sabres fan as well. We almost lost both of our teams because of the are arenas Rich Stadium home of the Buffalo Bills is still one of the highest capacities we sell out every game we still hold I believe 73000? We keep it new updated comfortable all the new Commodities that's all these stadiums have. But yet we almost lost our team to Toronto 20 years old so many stadiums don't even make it to and they get demolished not even turned in anything that would benefit the city this is the reason that I hate Pro Sports
How did you go there? A few years after it was torn down, the cops were still chasing people away. Now that it's part of the park, can you go there with no problems? Thanks for the video. I'm sure that place is still haunted, especially at night.
It was no problem for me. In fact there were other people there too. You mainly need to stick to the paths though because the area has become a bird sanctuary and the park doesn’t want people to disturb the birds or their nests (some of them have ground nests).. Otherwise, yes, you can go on the land but again, stick to the paths and be aware of the bird habitat.
Ticket would be roughly $47.60 in todays money
do you remember if the court length was parallel or perpendicular to 303?
forget it, north to south, got it
Yes it was perpendicular to 303, it ran north-south.
Loved the old Richfield Coliseum living about 35 minutes southwest of there. All the money people and politicians in Cleveland hated it. Here is how they made the deal. The owner of the Cavs got a brand new Arena in Cleveland, but had to agree to tear down the Coliseum. Now all the southern fans had to drive to shitsville Cleveland to see a game. The cost is now about 10 times more up there to go to a game. It's not worth it.
Without moving the arean to Cleveland , the cavs would have to leave. The coliseum didn't have anywhere near the amount of luxury boxes to support an NBA team. Even if the coliseum has enough boxes, the real money to buy the yearly lease on the boxes is in Cleveland not in a cornfield in the middle of nowhere. Also, the one freeway exit leading to the coliseum led to traffic jams after every event. Not an ideal situation for the circus let alone the NBA. When the coliseum was built, Rickfield said they would build up the area around it. The video shows the area is still a cow pasture. Richfield only had thirty some years to do something about it, guess that wasn't enogh time. For those us who live in, what you call shtvillle, can easily afford to go to the game.
Did you ever make it down to see the court in Virginia?
No, I haven’t made it back down there yet. Covid has really limited what I’ve been able to do in the past year. But I plan to try and see it the next time I’m down there.
Yea how about center Ice as well?
Sure traffic was hell but I'll be damned if it's any worse than Blossom music center 😅
Blossom is awful. You're 100% right.
So sad. I have so many lasting memories of the Richfield Coliseum. It's just not the same going downtown to see games, concerts, and more. I wish they would have just built a new building here instead of making it all about money for downtown Cleveland.
I believe that part of the reason for the move to downtown was the fact that there really wasn't anything else out there in Richfield. Just a lot of farmland and forest. The original owners had hoped that the construction of the Coliseum would be the catalyst for new business in the area, like hotels, restaurants, shopping, etc. It just never happened. It also didn't help that the Coliseum was built at the intersection of Interstate 271 and Route 303, which lead to traffic jams anytime the place was close to full capacity.
I'm thankful for the memories but also thankful it is gone.
What do you mean no where to eat or drink? We drank on the way there.
Complete waste of a good building
It had a very short (too short IMO) shelf life. I miss that place.
Jesus...this video just gets better!!! The Christian school story?!? Get outta here!