Memorial Coliseum ( Portland ) Veterans Memorial Coliseum , formerly and more commonly known as Memorial Coliseum , is an indoor arena located in the oldest part of what is now known as the Rose Quarter area in Portland , Oregon , United States . The arena is the home of the Portland Winterhawks , a major junior ice hockey team , and was the original home of the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association . It has been included on the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of its architectural significance . Tenants . The Memorial Coliseum was the home of the Portland Buckaroos of the Western Hockey League and was the venue for the 1965 NCAA Men ' s Division I Basketball Championship , where UCLA won its second of ten such championships in the 1960s and 1970s . Portland Trail Blazers . When the Portland Trail Blazers franchise was awarded for 1970 , the Memorial Coliseum became the team ' s home court , capable of seating nearly 13 , 000 when configured for basketball . Three NBA Finals have been ( partially ) played in the Coliseum ; in 1977 ( when the Trail Blazers won ) and in 1990 and 1992 . On November 1 , 1974 , Gerald Ford became the first president to attend an NBA game . At the Memorial Coliseum , he watched the Trail Blazers defeat the Buffalo Braves 113 – 106 . Construction began on the nearby Rose Garden soon after the 1992 NBA finals , and it became the team ' s home arena when it opened in 1995 . As part of the team ' s 40th anniversary celebration , the Blazers played a pre - season game at Memorial Coliseum on October 14 , 2009 , against the Phoenix Suns . Team founder Harry Glickman , former players Jerome Kersey , Terry Porter , and Bob Gross , as well as broadcaster Bill Schonely attended the game . The Suns defeated the Blazers , 110 – 104 , with 11 , 740 tickets sold . Portland Winterhawks . The building is currently the home arena of the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League . In August 2007 , the City of Portland and the Portland Winterhawks reached an agreement to have replay screens installed in the main center ice scoreboard in time for the 2007 – 2008 hockey season . The city agreed to rent the screens , which are owned by the Winterhawks , for the first year , and then either buy them outright or replace them with different screens in 2008 – 09 . Other improvements included adding a ' beer garden ' area , replacing graphic displays , and general painting and repairs . Other occupants . The Portland Power of the American Basketball League played in the Coliseum from 1996 – 1998 . It hosted the OSAA 4A Men ' s State Basketball Tournament in March 1966 – 2003 and the March 2005 Big Sky Conference Basketball Tournament . The Memorial Coliseum hosts the Oregon High School Hockey League ; local high school hockey teams play a few games each season and it also hosts some other events such as conventions , touring shows , and high school graduations . Major events . The Memorial Coliseum was designed with large doors at both ends to accommodate the floats of the Portland Rose Festival ’ s Grand Floral Parade . The parade begins at the Memorial Coliseum , where paying guests watch the parade cross the Coliseum ’ s floor from reserved seats inside and from bleachers outside . The Rose Festival Queen ’ s coronation has also been held in the facility since 1961 . On August 22 , 1965 , The Beatles played two shows at Memorial Coliseum to 20 , 000 screaming fans as part of their 1965 American Tour . Allen Ginsburg , who was in the audience , wrote a poem about the event called “ Portland Coliseum ” . A political rally for 2000 presidential candidate Ralph Nader sold 10 , 500 seven - dollar tickets at the venue on August 26 , 2000 , with every seat sold except those behind the stage . President Barack Obama spoke at the Memorial Coliseum on March 21 , 2008 , before winning the Democratic Nomination . Dew Tour . In 2004 , Portland was selected as one of five cities in the U . S . to host the Dew Tour , an extreme sports franchise started in 2005 . Titled the Vans Invitational , the event was held at the Rose Quarter August 17 – 21 , 2004 . The Memorial Coliseum hosted " BMX : Park " , " BMX : Vert " , " Skateboard : Park " , and " Skateboard : Vert " . The Dew Tour returned to the Rose Quarter again with the Wendy ' s Invitational on August 12 – 15 , 2010 , marking the tour ' s sixth year in Portland , which is the only city that has qualified to host the tour in every year since its inception . Davis Cup Tennis final . From November 30 through December 2 , 2007 , the Memorial Coliseum hosted the 2007 Davis Cup Tennis final between the USA and Russia . History . Financed by an $ 8 million bond approved by voters in 1954 , construction was completed by Hoffman Construction in 1960 and dedicated on January 8 , 1961 , to the " advancement of cultural opportunities for the community and to the memory of our veterans of all wars who made the supreme sacrifice . " The facility is tall and has a footprint of about . It is sometimes referred to as " The Glass Palace " in Portland . The building was designed by architecture firm Skidmore , Owings & Merrill . Original plans called for a building made of wood , which is plentiful in the region , but cost and safety factors precluded that . The structure instead consists of a modernistic gray glass and aluminum , non - load - bearing curtain - wall cube around a central ovular concrete seating bowl . Four concrete piers support the steel roof , with no interior columns required . The exterior appearance , with of glass , is of a skyscraper laid on its side . The curtain - wall windows inside offer views of the city in all directions . The black curtains can be closed to block sunlight in 90 seconds . Seating includes 9 , 000 permanent seats expandable to 14 , 000 with portable chairs and bleachers . At its opening , it was called the largest multipurpose facility of its kind in the Pacific Northwest . The war memorial consists of two black granite walls below ground level and near the main gate . The names of the dead are inscribed in gold paint , now faded with age . There are no dates given , only the names and an inscription : " To the memory of a supreme sacrifice we honor those who gave their lives for God , principle and love of country ” . The International Style glass and concrete building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in September 2009 . In 2011 , the Portland City Council voted to change the name of the arena from Memorial Coliseum to Veterans Memorial Coliseum , to better reflect its history as a memorial to war veterans , and as part of the larger Rose Quarter Development project . The seating capacity for basketball has been as followed : Future . It was proposed that Memorial Coliseum be demolished to make room for a 9 , 000 - seat new ballpark for Merritt Paulson ’ s Portland Beavers baseball team , since the team was moving from PGE Park to make room for the new Portland Timbers Major League Soccer franchise , also a Paulson - owned team . That proposal was dropped early in May 2009 with Lents Park being re - considered as a ballpark site . Opposition to razing Memorial Coliseum included some veterans and architectural historians who successfully applied for National Register of Historic Places status for the building . Former governor Vic Atiyeh also opposed demolition if it led to the veteran memorial being forgotten . The Memorial Coliseum was given a rank of the highest importance in the city ’ s historic resource inventory of 1984 . Other proposed uses of the grounds include turning the site into an entertainment district , a recreation center , a retail center , or a multilevel center for arts , athletics , and education . Another possibility is to update and repair the facility to improve its marketability . However , there had been talk about using two of the outer glass walls as part of the exterior for a new ballpark . In December 2011 , it was announced that the Coliseum will undergo a 30 million dollar renovation , partially paid for by the city and partially by the Winterhawks . The renovations would be completed in the spring and summer of 2012 .