The Sportatorium , located in downtown Dallas , Texas , was a barn-like arena used primarily for professional wrestling events. The building, which stood at 1000 S. Industrial Blvd, or the intersection of Industrial Boulevard and Cadiz Street (near the I-30/I-35E Interchange), had a seating capacity of approximately 4,500.
28-601: The name Sportatorium , a contraction of sports auditorium , has been used as the name of three indoor sports arenas: Dallas Sportatorium , in Dallas, Texas Hollywood Sportatorium , in Hollywood, Florida Tampa Sportatorium , a small television studio in Tampa, Florida Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
56-565: A Cessna 182 flown by wrestler Buddy Colt that crashed into Tampa Bay while attempting to land at Peter O. Knight Airport in Tampa, Florida . Shane was killed and the other three men suffered serious injuries. Hart was thrown from the plane into the water with a broken arm, wrist, knee, back, sternum, collarbone and vertebrae with his right eye knocked loose and his nose partially severed. Despite this, he managed to locate Idol and help him to shore, then swam back out to rescue Colt. However, Hart
84-743: A heart attack at his home in Euless, Texas , after returning from an autograph session in Allentown, Pennsylvania. On April 5, 2008, Peach State Pandemonium, an internet wrestling program, aired a two-hour tribute program in the memory of Hart. From Tulsa, Oklahoma Kris Thorn, "Cowboy" Bill Watts , Jack Brisco , James Beard, Abdullah The Butcher , Michael "P.S." Hayes , Kevin Sullivan , George Steele , Skandor Akbar , and Jim Ross were among those who attended. Following his death, his autobiography, My Life In Wrestling...With A Little Help From My Friends ,
112-424: A part of the new Trinity River Project , which has led to the renaming of Industrial Boulevard to Riverfront Boulevard. Gary Hart (wrestler) Gary Richard Williams (January 24, 1942 – March 16, 2008) was an American professional wrestling manager , as well as a professional wrestler in his early career, best known by his ring name Gary Hart . Hart was one of the pivotal driving forces behind what
140-616: A partnership with wrestler Jack Adkisson , who was known in the ring as Fritz Von Erich and bought the Dallas/Fort Worth Wrestling Office, breaking away from Paul Boesch and the Houston Wrestling Office. In January 1968, McLemore started suffering a series of heart attacks and was no longer able to attend to the company's day-to-day business; he died on January 9, 1969, leaving Adkisson in charge. Adkisson's promotion, which became known in
168-523: A rectangular venue (with a modified octagonal seating configuration similar to the original), and reopened on September 22 of that year, billed at the time as The Million-Dollar Sportatorium . The arena also hosted boxing events and concerts featuring up-and-coming rock stars over the years, very much in the same manner as its Los Angeles counterpart, the Grand Olympic Auditorium , did during that time frame. In late 1966, McLemore formed
196-480: A reputation for being uncomfortable and unsanitary (having inadequate heating and cooling facilities, rodent infestation problems and apparently a large chamber or pit in the foundation), the Dallas Sportatorium is nonetheless still remembered fondly for its intimate atmosphere, and is considered one of pro wrestling's most legendary venues. The land that had been occupied by the arena is slated to be
224-542: A short hiatus in 1986; stayed with the promotion until 1988. Hart was also a promoter and manager in San Antonio for Texas All-Star Wrestling, the successor of Joe Blanchard 's Southwest Championship Wrestling (SCW) group. He also worked for the ICW, first as the heel manager of Bruiser Brody , Kevin Sullivan and Mark Lewin . During one storyline, Hart had a falling-out with Sullivan, after which Lewin attacked Hart with
252-775: A sleeper hold. Shortly after Al Perez lost the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship to Kerry Von Erich on March 6, 1988, Hart continued to manage Perez in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s Jim Crockett Promotions in 1988, along with Larry Zbyszko and Ron Garvin after Garvin turned heel on Dusty Rhodes . In 1989, he managed the stable J-Tex Corporation , which included Terry Funk , Dick Slater , Buzz Sawyer , The Dragonmaster , and The Great Muta . They feuded primarily with Ric Flair and Sting , but Ole and Arn Anderson later teamed up with Flair and Sting to even
280-923: Is considered to be World Class Championship Wrestling 's "golden years" in the early 1980s. Gary Hart started wrestling in Chicago at the Marigold Arena in 1960. His uncle, Billy Gates, worked as a booking agent for Chicago promoter Fred Kohler . After working in Chicago, he worked in Detroit until 1964. He then worked on and off in Australia under Jim Barnett until 1974 when he relocated with Barnett to Atlanta becoming involved in Georgia Championship Wrestling . After Georgia, he worked in Florida in 1975 managing Pak Song Nam . In
308-645: The Dallas Sportatorium . Hart retired in 1999, but made a surprise return in Major League Wrestling (MLW), during the promotion's Reloaded Tour on January 9–10, 2004. Hart appeared following the main event (on January 9) pitting Low Ki against Homicide , where the three laid out several wrestlers from the locker room, as well MLW president Court Bauer. MLW closed its doors before any resolution could be provided, only to resume operations in 2017. Hart died on March 16, 2008, following
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#1732787800788336-793: The "Golden Years" of the promotion. Hart created the classic feud between the Von Erichs and the Fabulous Freebirds , as well as forming The Stable of H. & H. Ltd in 1982 with Arman Hussian that introduced characters ( Bugsy McGraw , Bill Irwin , Checkmate , Killer Brooks and Ten Gu), he also managed The Great Kabuki , the One Man Gang , King Kong Bundy , and the Samoan Swat Team. Hart additionally managed talent such as "Gorgeous" Gino Hernandez and Gentleman Chris Adams . Along with booking, he also managed Nord
364-501: The 1990s when the arena was refurbished for the Global Wrestling Federation. During wrestling matches, the heel wrestlers came out of the northwest aisle, between sections B & C, while the babyfaces came out of the aisle on the southwest corner, or sections J & A. A broadcast studio was set up adjacent to the heel's locker room area; and an overhead section was later added for wrestling announcers to call
392-660: The Barbarian , Abdullah The Butcher , Al Perez and Jeep Swenson under the stable "New Age Management". During World Class's golden era, Hart was also a manager in the Georgia and Mid-Atlantic regions of the NWA; joining these two areas exclusively in 1983 shortly after the start of the Freebirds-Von Erichs feud, when he left World Class due to a pay dispute. Hart returned to Texas in the summer of 1984 and following
420-540: The Cox Fence Company, the original Dallas Sportatorium was constructed in the shape of an octagon , and seated approximately 10,000. Its inaugural wrestling event, promoted by Burt Willoughby, took place on December 9, 1935. Willoughby promoted wrestling at the Sportatorium until 1940, when the company was bought out by its former concessions manager, Ed McLemore. From 1948 until 1966, the Sportatorium
448-581: The GWF's demise, a succession of smaller promotions (including the NWA between 1995 and 1996) attempted to hold shows in the building, each of them running out of money and closing their doors after only a short time. However, it did gain one last bit of notoriety in March 1992 when Dallas-based Southwest Airlines held an arm-wrestling match between chairman Herb Kelleher and Kurt Herwald, chairman of Stevens Aviation, resulting from controversy over Southwest's use of
476-450: The aging arena was seriously dilapidated by this time, was out of compliance with local building codes, and was often used as a shelter by homeless people who entered the building illegally. In late December 2001 a fire started inside the building. The flames quickly spread and caused major damage to the arena's upstairs offices. The fire proved to be the coup de grâce for the Sportatorium, its long-rumored demolition finally taking place in
504-615: The arena for a time in 1989. After WCCW folded in 1990 due to dwindling attendance, fundamental changes in the wrestling industry and tragedies involving a number of its top stars (including all but one of the Von Erichs, Gino Hernandez , and Bruiser Brody ), the Sportatorium served as home base for the Global Wrestling Federation from 1991 to 1994 (billing itself for a time as the GlobalDome ). Following
532-421: The early 1980s as World Class Championship Wrestling and featured his sons as its top stars, was the most famous and successful wrestling federation to run regularly at the Dallas Sportatorium. The arena was configured with several ring aisles with the majority of the seats (mostly bleachers) set up on the east, south and west portions of the building. The north side of the building, best known as "Section D",
560-513: The late 1960s, he retired from in-ring competition and transitioned into a managerial role, going under the name "Playboy" Gary Hart. During the late 1960s, he managed The Spoiler , as well as the tag team duo The Spoilers, which consisted of Spoilers #1 (Don Jardine) and #2 ( Smasher Sloan ). They won several tag team titles in 1968 and 1969 under Hart's guidance. On February 20, 1975, Hart, along with Austin Idol and Bobby Shane , were passengers on
588-492: The match. On the Industrial Blvd side of the arena was the offices of Big Time Wrestling/World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW). Jack Adkisson and his sons each shared office space in the arena. Others like David Manning, Gary Hart , Ken Mantell , Percy Pringle , Skandor Akbar and Chris Adams would also occupy the front offices of the arena. Eric Embry , who was the Sportatorium's lead booker, lived inside
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#1732787800788616-805: The sides up (and thus bringing back The Four Horseman briefly). J-Tex disbanded in early 1990. After leaving WCW, Hart returned to Texas and began a new wrestling promotion in North Dallas, the Texas Wrestling Federation, which showcased many former stars of World Class and those who were competing in the USWA/World Class promotion. During the 1990s, following the demise of the Global Wrestling Federation , Hart and Chris Adams were involved in many Texas-based wrestling promotions, including an ill-fated attempt to revive World Class (billed as World Class II: The Next Generation) at
644-404: The slogan "Just Plane Smart" (Stevens claimed that it infringed on its own "Plane Smart" slogan). The match was a publicity stunt designed to raise funds for charity. The Sportatorium fell into disuse in the late 1990s when local independent wrestling promotions, by now drawing crowds only in the low hundreds, elected to run their shows in dance halls and other smaller venues instead. In addition,
672-742: The spring of 2003. Before its implosion, Kevin Von Erich took off a bench-seat and a few items from the Sportatorium as souvenirs. Kevin took one final tour of the historic arena, which was featured in its famed DVD documentary Heroes of World Class , released in 2006. Exactly 10 years after the death of Kerry Von Erich , February 18, 2003, the "World Famous Sportatorium" Main Entrance sign was saved from demolition by wrestling announcer Doyle King, who retains possession of it to this day. It has been on display at several local wrestling reunions and some local Dallas Fort Worth wrestling events. Although it had
700-478: The title Sportatorium . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sportatorium&oldid=625920502 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Dallas Sportatorium Built in 1934 by
728-647: Was also the site of the Big D Jamboree , a weekly country music showcase similar in format to the Grand Ole Opry and Louisiana Hayride ; portions of the Jamboree were broadcast nationally on the CBS Radio Network . The Sportatorium was partially destroyed by fire on May 1, 1953, in what was rumored to be an act of arson by a rival wrestling promoter. It was quickly rebuilt at the same location as
756-469: Was unable to find Shane, who was later found still strapped into his seat in the submerged plane wreckage. Hart was reportedly plagued by the memory, and for decades wondered whether he had done everything he could to save Shane. Hart became the booker for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW; then known as Big Time Wrestling) in 1976, a position he held until January 1983, then again from 1986 to 1988. The years between 1982 and 1985 are considered to be
784-436: Was used mostly for a small stage and media area for cameras and reporters, but at least 10 rows of seats were also set up between the main stage/ring and the wall. A United States flag was displayed on the wall of section D for most of the arena's existence, and was changed once when the 48-star U.S. flag was replaced with a 50-star U.S. flag in 1960. The flag was moved to the section C area in 1987, then later above section I in
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