Grossinger Motors Arena
Grossinger Motors Arena[7] (formerly known as U.S. Cellular Coliseum and simply the Coliseum[7]) is an arena in downtown Bloomington, Illinois. It is on the southwest corner of Madison Street (US-51) and Front Street. The arena opened to the public on April 1, 2006.
  The building nearing completion in 2005. | |
| |
| Former names | U.S. Cellular Coliseum (2006–2016) The Coliseum (2016–2017) |
|---|---|
| Location | 101 South Madison Street Bloomington, Illinois 60701 |
| Coordinates | 40°28′41″N 88°59′47″W |
| Owner | City of Bloomington |
| Operator | VenuWorks |
| Capacity | Hockey & Indoor Football: 7,000 Concerts: 8,000 |
| Surface | Multi-surface |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | August 19, 2004[1] |
| Opened | April 1, 2006 |
| Construction cost | $37 million ($46.9 million in 2019 dollars[2]) |
| Architect | BBB Architects, Ltd.[3] |
| Structural engineer | Halcrow Yolles[4] |
| Services engineer | The Mitchell Partnership Inc.[5] |
| General contractor | Johnston Contractors Inc.[6] |
| Tenants | |
| Bloomington PrairieThunder (UHL/IHL/CHL) (2006–2011) Bloomington Blaze/Thunder (CHL/SPHL) (2011–2014) Bloomington Edge (IFL/CPIFL/XLIF/CIF) (2012–2018) Central Illinois Flying Aces (USHL) (2017–2019) Illinois State Redbirds (ACHA) Bloomington (FPHL) (2021–) Midway Marauders (IFA) (2020–) | |
Description
Its seating capacity is approximately 5,500 for hockey and indoor football games and 8,000 for concerts. The arena has 800 club seats, 24 luxury suites, and two party suites.[3]
The arena also has a basketball floor.
The arena annually hosts local high school graduation ceremonies (Bloomington High School, Normal Community High School and Normal West High School) as well as the local community college's graduation ceremony (Heartland Community College).
The arena is connected to the Bloomington Ice Center which is located in the same building, and it has no rights to the Bloomington Ice Center, also known as the Pepsi Ice Center,[8] which is a public ice rink run by Bloomington's Parks & Recreation Department. It hosts the Illinois State University Redbirds hockey club. The center features open skating, as well as lessons and hockey leagues. It is also the home of the State Farm Holiday Classic, one of the largest, co-ed high school holiday basketball tournaments in the nation, featuring 64 varsity teams participating throughout Bloomington-Normal.
Controversy
The arena has been a burden on city finances due to operational losses from lack of sponsorships. Though bookings increased, the lack of local city population is a continued problem. There have been criminal proceedings over allegations of fraud, embezzlement and theft by the past management company, CIAM.[9]
References
- Guetersloh, M.K. (August 19, 2004). "Ground Broken for Arena. Construction Expected to Take 18 Months". The Pantagraph. Bloomington. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
- Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
- Outfield Seats Will Be Ready Ahead Of Schedule For Cardinals
- "Ferdo Simov". Entuitive, Ltd. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
- "US Cellular Coliseum" (PDF). tmptoronto.com. The Mitchell Partnership.
- "US Cellular Coliseum". johnston-contractors.com. Johnson Contractors.
- Nagle, Maria (June 22, 2017). "Name Change: Coliseum now called Grossinger Motors Arena". The Pantagraph. Bloomington. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
- Pepsi Ice Center
- Nagle, Maria (September 15, 2018). "Deep in the red: Bloomington arena ends year with another big operating loss". The Pantagraph. Bloomington. Retrieved September 20, 2020.