RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Arguably one of the most important venues in the state of North Carolina just passed a historic milestone.
Monday marks 75 years since the grand opening of William Neal Reynolds Coliseum, the home of the North Carolina State Wolfpack women’s basketball team among many other university sports.
Reynolds Coliseum marked the largest basketball arena in the Southwest when it first opened its doors on Dec. 2, 1949. The venue housed the N.C. State men’s basketball program for 50 years until the team moved to play at Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena, now called the Lenovo Center, in 1999.
The arena’s first event was a basketball game between the Wolfpack and Washington and Lee University – the Southern Conference opener for both teams. The unfinished facility, which cost $2.5 million to construct, left some of the 11,020 spectators who attended with leftover stains due to wet paint that remained in some areas of the stadium.
N.C. State came away victorious, winning 67-47 on this big night. This was the start of a monumental season for the Wolfpack, culminating in the program’s first-ever appearance in the NCAA semifinals – now referred to as the Final Four.
Over the course of three quarters of a century, Reynolds Coliseum has played host to several different types of activities, ranging from sporting events, concerts and political rallies. The arena has welcomed presidents, presidential candidates and gubernatorial inaugurations during its lifetime, starting with the 1960 campaign of eventual president John F. Kennedy.
Reynolds has also been at the center of various notable chapters of American history, particularly during the Civil Rights Movement. One such instance occurred on July 31, 1966, when Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. addressed a crowd of nearly 5,000 people on N.C. State’s campus, at the same time while hundreds of Ku Klux Klan members marched through downtown Raleigh.
In 2016, the arena underwent a $35 million renovation. Reynolds Coliseum, which contained 12,400 seats during its 1949 opening, was significantly reduced to a capacity of around 5,500 spectators. However, the remodeling project added amenities like the N.C. State Athletics Walk of Fame and History, as well as upgraded offices, locker rooms and weight rooms.
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This photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, shows the newly renovated Reynolds Coliseum at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) -
This photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016 shows freshly painted team colors in the recently renovated Reynolds Coliseum at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) -
In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016 a basketball with a photo of former basketball head coach Jim Valvano is on display with other memorabilia in the recently renovated Reynolds Coliseum at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) -
In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016 a visitor looks through the memorabilia in the newly renovated Reynolds Coliseum at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) -
This photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016 shows old stadium seats incorporated into the newly renovated Reynolds Coliseum at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
On Nov. 14, 2018, the facility was renamed as the James T. Valvano Arena at William Neal Reynolds Coliseum, in honor of the former Wolfpack men’s basketball coach who led the “Cardiac Pack” to an improbable NCAA championship run in 1983 – the program’s last national title.
The iconic arena continues to be a multi-use facility for N.C. State campus events. Along with the women’s basketball team, Reynolds Coliseum is the home for Wolfpack volleyball, gymnastics and wrestling.