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Post by Baltimore Jack on Jun 27, 2006 8:57:24 GMT -5
"Monday morning came dark, wet and final for Victory Stadium..." Venerable old Victory Stadium, site of many Roanoke wrestling cards under the lights for Crockett promoter Pete Apostolou, is being torn down. The demolition began yesterday (Mon. 6/26) even as the Roanoke River jumped its banks due to the torrential rainfall the area has received in the last day or so.  Apparently, it has been a bitter battle between local residents over the past several years as to whether the structure should be torn down or renovated and refurbished. We have some links to reports, photos, video, etc. on the Gateway in the Classic Venues section: Victory Stadium: Roanoke's Grand Ole Lady |
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Post by kyle on Jun 27, 2006 12:35:53 GMT -5
Flooding brought the problems to a head a few years ago as the structure was found to be unsound. If the rain keeps up and the river rises enough it will flood again before it comes down.
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Post by Baltimore Jack on Jun 28, 2006 0:42:30 GMT -5
Wow, Kyle, you're not kidding.  I've collected some of the photos from the Roanoke Times and WDBJ-7 websites (as well as some amazing time-lapse video of the demolition and the flooding) and added them to the bottom of the Victory Stadium page in the Classic Venues section of the Gateway. The Grand Ole Lady isn't going down without a fight! (She's actually a pretty tough old broad....) |
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Post by rlb147 on Jun 28, 2006 2:23:43 GMT -5
sad
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Post by cwh47 on Jun 28, 2006 7:53:24 GMT -5
Thank you Jack, for posting all the photos of Victory Stadium.
That video capture of the ring and the crowd indicate what
a great wrestling venue looked like in the sixties.
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Post by Baltimore Jack on Jun 29, 2006 12:52:08 GMT -5
Better days...  This was taken at a music festival at Victory Stadium, but kind of fun to imagine it was taken at the Great American Bash or something like that. |
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Post by RowdyRoddy on Jul 5, 2006 9:56:09 GMT -5
For years, the Victory Stadium issue was a major concern at city council. The stadium was built back in the 1940s and played host to a slew of JCP house shows in the 1960s.
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Post by RowdyRoddy on Aug 30, 2006 18:32:38 GMT -5
Did JCP run Victory Stadium in the summer back in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s and the Roanoke Civic Center in the fall, winter, and spring back in the 1970s???
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Post by kyle on Aug 30, 2006 20:39:16 GMT -5
I started attending wrestling at the Roanoke Civic Center in late 1976. After this I don't remember anymore events at the Starland Arena (possibly some that I just didn't remember) or Victory Stadium.
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Post by cwh47 on Aug 31, 2006 7:41:33 GMT -5
Roanoke promoter Pete Apostolou did run shows at Victory
Stadium during the 60's through at least 1974.I don't know
for sure about the 50's. I may be wrong on this but I seem to
remember Mr. Apostolou also running shows at the American
Legion in the 60's before he built Starland Arena.In 1968 he
began running shows in the newly constructed Salem-Roanoke
Valley Civic Center from time to time.
The photo of the Victory Stadium wrestling event which you
can see on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway is I believe from around
1963.That is just a guess.
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Post by RowdyRoddy on Aug 31, 2006 8:03:08 GMT -5
I believe that the Roanoke Civic Center opened in 1971. I think this is the last card at Victory Stadium...
July 17th, 1976
Roanoke, VA
Victory Stadium
Rufus R. Jones beat Blackjack Mulligan
Wahoo McDaniel beat Ric Flair by count out
Johnny Weaver/Ron Garvin beat Lanny Poffo/Randy Poffo by DQ
Bill White beat Manuel Soto
El Gaucho beat Mr Hayashi
Interestingly, they ran Salem, VA and Roanoke, VA (Roanoke Valley) on the same day back in 1972....
November 24th, 1972
Salem, VA
Art Nelson/Johnny Weaver beat The Royal Kangaroos in a taped fist tag team championship match with special referree Joe Louis
Thunderbolt Patterson/Ron Garvin beat Gene Anderson/Ole Anderson
Big Boy Brown beat Masked Menace
Klondike Bill beat Matti Suzuki
Nelson Royal beat Joe Soto
Johnny Ringo beat Johnny Heidman
November 24th, 1972
Roanoke, VA
Ronnie Garvin/Thunderbolt Patterson beat Gene Anderson/Ole Anderson
Art Nelson/Johnny Weaver beat The Royal Kangaroos
Luke Brown beat The Menace
Nelson Royal beat Joe Soto
Klondike Bill Beat Matti Suzuki
John Ringo beat Johnny Heidmann
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Post by cwh47 on Aug 31, 2006 9:04:15 GMT -5
The Salem-Roanoke Valley Civic Center opened in 1967 and
operated under that name for several years before shortening
the name to Salem Civic Center. I have a couple of newspaper
ads for Pete Apostolou shows there in 1968-69.
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Post by RowdyRoddy on Aug 31, 2006 10:00:37 GMT -5
You are correct. I did not know it was initially called the Salem/Roanoke Valley Civic Center. This article confirms everything....
The Salem Civic Center became a part of Salem’s landscape October 1967. Salem Town Council first recognized the need for a building of its type in 1955, and seven years later citizens were encouraging city leaders to pursue the construction of an arena-type structure in Salem. In 1963, council bought a 74-acre tract (the civic center location) for about $290,000 from the Lutheran Children’s Home. At about this same time Roanoke City officials were debating constructing a stadium; Salem officials invited the City of Roanoke to join them in erecting a community building that could be jointly shared and operated. However, Roanoke City rejected the offer for various reasons. Salem went ahead with plans to construct a smaller center, but shortly thereafter Roanoke County became interested and provided Salem financial support, making it possible to enlarge the civic center to the full-size arena it is today. The $2.5 million civic center operated for a number of years as the Salem-Roanoke Valley Civic Center. In 1983, the City of Salem assumed sole proprietorship.
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Since opening its' doors in October 1971, the Roanoke Civic Center continues to be Western Virginia's premier full-service convention, exhibition, and cultural complex. Major industrial trade shows, professional sports teams, and business executives have all discovered that the Civic Center can meet their needs with professional service and competitive pricing. Located within walking distance of downtown Roanoke, visitors to the Civic Center will enjoy exploring the historic Roanoke City Market or browsing in some of the many shops and museums. There are numerous hotels & restaurants in the Roanoke Valley which cater to a variety of tastes and budgets. And the great southern hospitality can't be beat! A spacious coliseum, theater, and multi-purpose hall, supported by complete kitchen facilities and plenty of dressing rooms make the Roanoke Civic Center the ideal place for business, professional, or social gatherings. Major concerts and touring Broadway shows appear regularly at the Civic Center, often to sell-out crowds.
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