Dallas Sportatorium, Wrestling arena in downtown Dallas, United States.
The Dallas Sportatorium was a sports venue with an octagonal steel structure and flat roof located at Industrial Boulevard and Cadiz Street, featuring a dirt floor and rectangular layout for events. The building held around 4,500 spectators with seating arranged in a circle around the central ring.
The venue opened on December 9, 1935, under promoter Burt Willoughby and later became the home of World Class Championship Wrestling under Fritz Von Erich. A fire incident in 1953 led to a complete reconstruction of the building.
The venue served as a gathering place for wrestling fans and hosted the Big D Jamboree, a country music radio program that reached audiences nationwide through CBS broadcasts during the 1950s. This combination made it a center where different forms of entertainment came together under one roof.
The circular seating arrangement meant visitors could view wrestling matches from different angles without obstruction. This layout ensured that most spectators had close sightlines to the action in the ring.
An arson attack by rival wrestling promoters in 1953 destroyed much of the building, prompting a rapid reconstruction. The rebuilt venue became known as the Million Dollar Sportatorium.
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