Richmond Coliseum Richmond Coliseum is an arena in Richmond , Virginia , where the SPHL Richmond Renegades played until the 2008 - 2009 season and the SIFL Richmond Raiders will play starting with the 2010 season . It is also the venue for various large concerts . The arena opened in 1971 and holds 13 , 500 people . A small fire occurred there in 1997 , shutting it down for repairs . It is managed by SMG . The Richmond Coliseum was also the former part - time home of the Virginia Squires of the American Basketball Association . The Squires played there in addition to Roanoke Civic Center , Norfolk Scope and Hampton Coliseum ( all within the Commonwealth of Virginia ) from 1970 until just before the ABA – NBA merger in 1976 . The Coliseum also hosted the Southern Conference men ' s basketball tournaments in 1973 and 1974 . The Sun Belt Conference men ’ s basketball tournament was held there in 1988 . The Colonial Athletic Association men ' s ( NCAA ) collegiate basketball tournament has been contested at the Richmond Coliseum since 1990 . On March 1 , 2006 , a deal was signed to keep the tournament in Richmond until 2012 . The Coliseum served as the primary home for the MEAC Men ' s Basketball Tournament between 1998 and 2005 , with some games played at the Arthur Ashe Athletic Center . Until John Paul Jones Arena opened in 2006 , the Richmond Coliseum was the largest sports arena in Virginia . The Virginia Commonwealth University Rams men ' s basketball team played there until the 7 , 500 - seat Alltel Pavilion , on the VCU campus , opened in 1999 . In 1994 , the Coliseum hosted the Women ' s NCAA Division I Basketball Championship . Charlotte Smith of the University of North Carolina sank a buzzer - beating 3 - pointer to defeat Louisiana Tech , 60 - 59 , in the final . It has been a regular stop for professional wrestling promotions through the years , including the old NWA ( Jim Crockett Promotions ) Mid - Atlantic territory , and more recently , WWE . In recent years , it hosted the fifteenth WWF pay - per - view in 1997 , " WWE Armageddon " on December 17 , 2006 , and hosted the televised portion of the 2010 WWE Draft . It held " WWE Friday Night SmackDown " on November 16 , 2010 . It held " WWE Raw " on Monday , June 6 , 2011 featuring WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin to announce the winner of " WWE Tough Enough " . It also held Monday Night Raw again May 21 , 2012 , immediately following Over the Limit in which John Cena lost a match against John Laurinaitis , with Laurinaitis only winning after The Big Show intervened . The Coliseum has also been a site for the Professional Bull Riders . In 1998 and 1999 a Built Ford Tough Series Bud Light Cup event known as the Lane Frost Memorial was held in the Coliseum ; the PBR returned in 2007 to host minor - league tour stops sponsored by former bull rider Greg Potter . On October 22 , 2008 , it hosted a rally for Presidential Candidate Barack Obama , drawing over 13 , 000 people . A similar crowd was drawn for the 2009 Republican Party of Virginia convention . Preliminary planning for a new arena to replace the Coliseum with possible seating of 16 , 000 to 20 , 000 is in the works with an estimated cost of $ 147 , 100 , 000 . By comparison , the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland , Ohio costs $ 148 million and has a capacity of 20 , 000 . Layout . The Richmond Coliseum is laid out on 6 levels . In order from lowest to highest they are the event level , the mezzanine , the lower concourse , the upper concourse , the 300 level and the ring . The event level is where the event floor ( and ice rink ) is located , as well as all the support rooms for events and the building . Team locker rooms , star dressing rooms , Exhibition halls , the Coliseum Club and the kitchens are located on the event level . The Clay Street tunnel , one of the innovative features of the coliseum , is on the event level and allows vehicles , including tractor trailers and monster trucks , to pull into the coliseum . It is accessed at the intersection of Clay Street and Eighth Street . The tunnel provides storage for shows and parking for coliseum personnel . The mezzanine is where the administrative offices for the coliseum are located . The Leigh Street entrance is on this level . The lower concourse is the access for all lower level seating and suites . The Fifth Street and Sixth Street entrances are located on this level , as well as exits to the areas above Clay Street and Leigh Street . The upper concourse is the access for all upper level seating and the 300 level is access to the highest seats on either radius of the coliseum . The ring is where the spotlights are operated and is the access to the catwalk .