The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Coliseum was built in Evansville IN in 1916 as a memorial to Union Civil War Veterans and Veterans of the Spanish0-American War.
The coliseum entry is flanked by two large bronze statues by sculptor George Honig. On the left: The Spirit of 1861, which honors Vanderburgh County's Union Army civil war veterans, and on the right: Spirit of 1916, which honors Vanderburgh County Spanish-American War veterans.
From the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Coliseum website: (
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"SOLDIERS AND SAILORS MEMORIAL COLISEUM WELCOMES YOU
Evansville's Best Kept Secret
Built in 1916 in the Heart of Downtown Evansville Indiana, this timeless treasure has a magnificent Grand Hall and private meeting room just waiting for your special event.
LEARN ABOUT US
The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Coliseum was erected in 1916 to honor the Veterans of this area. Its architectural design was patterned after the Roman and Gothic era.
The front of the building welcomes you with two grand statues that represent the soldiers that served in the Civil War and in the Spanish American War. Step through the large six white pillars and enter the Main Lobby designed with a built in ticket booth. Directly off the lobby to the right is the Grand Army Republic (GAR) room and to the left is the Spanish American War room, both perfect for your personal or business meetings."
In recent years, the most frequent events have been associated with the 2 local roller derby teams. The coliseum is also a frequent stop on the professional wrestling circuit and is used as a concert space for smaller rock 'n' roll concerts.
From the Evansville Courier & Press: (
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"Roller Derby among events housed by nearly 100-year-old building
By Jonathan Lintner
Although it's been a fixture in downtown since 1916, the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Coliseum remains "the best kept secret in Evansville."
"It's true," said Mark Acker, a member of the Veterans Council of Vanderburgh County Inc.'s board of directors. "People drive by the building and they don't know what it is."
The Coliseum, at 300 Court St., has seen a little bit of everything for the last 90-plus years, hosting political dignitaries, musicians and a host of sports. Run by the Veterans Council since 1971, the 66,000-square-foot Coliseum's main tenants are now roller derby teams, bingo players and Coliseum Championship Wrestling.
"If these walls could talk — wow," said Tony Borcherding, beaming during a wrestling event.
The bell rings for CCW shows at 7:30 every Wednesday night. Borcherding — or "2 Tuff Tony," as he's called in the ring — doubles as a wrestler and the organization's promoter.
But Borcherding said the Coliseum has never been a tough draw for wrestlers. It's the fans that the CCW is trying to reclaim in a building full of history.
The main floor has an old basketball court as well as a stage, a full-service kitchen and balcony seating. When the building was first erected, a tennis court was housed in the Coliseum with stadium seating encircling the main floor.
Now the inside more resembles a ballroom — with vintage paintings, black-and-white photos and a balcony. Oh, and there's the wrestling ring on Wednesday nights, an event that Evansville resident Walter Barron has been attending since he was just a kid.
"I can remember coming in here when it was packed — the whole building," said Barron, a self-proclaimed utility man for the CCW. Barron has announced, refereed and managed at different points over the years.
It's the personality of wrestling at the Coliseum that brings Barron back. But he said that compared to when he was growing up, the business of wrestling has changed. Now it's open, and it takes more to suspend belief and draw in an audience.
"You're right on top of the wrestlers here," he said. "You feel like you're more a part of the action."
CCW shows are run by the youngest CEO you'll ever meet — Hollie Cosby, 18, a recent North High School graduate who owns the company along with her 10-year old brother, Clayton Cosby. The Cosbys have run the CCW for about three months and have seen both attendance and interest rise while ticket prices fall.
"This place was going downhill," said Hollie Cosby, who lowered admission from $10 to $8 upon inheriting the company. "It's way better now than it was. It used to be 20 people here and we've built it up."
Veterans receive half-price admission, and children 6 and under gain free entry to CCW events. Most Wednesdays are headlined by local wrestlers, but the CCW also hosted a "Special Show" earlier this month featuring Necro Butcher — just the latest in a line of professional wrestlers to frequent the Coliseum over the years.
"Now I can say I've been here," said PJ Lightning, a local wrestler and regular at the CCW shows. "I've wrestled at the Coliseum where Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, the Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, the Undertaker — all these guys have."
All that separates what happens in the ring from the stands are the ropes and a thin barricade. And when people shout into the ring, CCW wrestlers oftentimes shout right back.
Borcherding said that's the allure of CCW wrestling compared to sitting in the rafters of a WWE event — or any wrestling match not held at the Coliseum.
"We want fans to go off and say, 'Hey, I got into it with this wrestler out at the Coliseum. He told me I was baldheaded and I didn't have no teeth. I'm going back next week because I have hair and teeth, and I want to holler at him,'" Borcherding said.
In addition to wrestling, the Coliseum hosts bingo on a weekly basis and houses the Demolition City Roller Derby's two teams — the All-Star Dynamite Dolls and B team Destruction Dames. The teams compete in the Women's Flat Track Derby Association.
Since the veterans took caring for the Coliseum into their own hands in the 1970s, the building has been maintained.
"When we got this place, there was mold all over the walls and the floors smelled like urine," Acker said.
The Veterans Council isn't funded by the government as a war memorial, Acker said. But improvements have continued on the building, which is almost 100 years old. Acker said new windows were recently installed and that other improvements are on their way because money made off events goes into the facility, not the veterans' pockets.
With the full-service kitchen, the Coliseum can host almost any event, as it has a number of meeting rooms and a main floor standing capacity of 4,055.
"Everybody forgets that, yes, the Coliseum is a war memorial, but it's also a viable venue for people to use," Acker said. "As long as veterans are breathing and there are people who care about this facility, it will continue operating until there's no veterans left to run it."