Norfolk Scope Norfolk Scope is a cultural , entertainment , convention and sports complex at the northern perimeter of downtown Norfolk , Virginia , comprising an approximately 11 , 000 person arena , a 2500 - person theater known as Chrysler Hall , a 10 , 000 square foot exhibition hall and a 600 car parking garage . The arena was designed by Italian architect / engineer Pier Luigi Nervi in conjunction with the ( now defunct ) local firm of " Williams and Tazewell " , which designed the entire complex . Nervi ' s design for the arena ' s reinforced concrete dome evolved from his much smaller Palazzetto dello Sport , which was built in the 1950s for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome . Construction on Scope began in June 1968 and was completed in 1971 at a cost of $ 35 million . Federal funds covered $ 23 million of the cost , and when it opened formally on November 12 , 1971 , the structure was the second - largest public complex in Virginia , behind only the Pentagon . Featuring the world ' s largest concrete dome , Scope won the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects " Test of Time " award in 2003 . Wes Lewis , director of Old Dominion University ' s civil engineering technology program , called it " a beautiful marrying of art and engineering . " Noted architectural critic James Howard Kunstler described the design as looking like " yesterday ' s tomorrow . " The name " Scope " , a contraction of " kaleidoscope " , emphasizes the venue ' s re - configurability and while initially the name chosen for the entire complex , has come to refer primarily to the arena component . The facility logo ( right ) , which features a multi - colored , abstracted kaleidoscope image , was designed by Raymond Loewy ' s firm " Loewy / Snaith " of New York . History and design . After watching the Rome Olympics on television , Brad Tazewell and Jim Williams , the Norfolk architects who were eventually to partner with Nervi , solicited U . S . Sen . A . Willis Robertson , father of Pat Robertson , to build a sports complex in Norfolk . Subsequently , President Lyndon B . Johnson asked Robertson to support federal funding for a multimillion - dollar cultural center in Colorado and Robertson said he would if Johnson would support one in Norfolk . Williams and Tazewell was subsequently commissioned ; they in turn commissioned Nervi . The complex was an important part of the first phase of Norfolk ' s post World War II revitilzation . A large section of the city ' s downtown was razed , and the Scope complex was to " anchor " its northern corner , with the Vincent Kling designed Courthouse and Civic complex anchoring the Eastern edge of downtown . With a concrete monolithic dome measuring 440 ft ( 134 m ) in diameter and a height of 110 ft ( 33 . 5 m ) , the dome was , at the time of its construction , the largest of its kind in the world . After the demolition of the larger Kingdome in 2000 , Scope reclaimed the title as having the world ' s largest concrete dome . Supported by 24 flying buttress es , the arena roof encloses . The arena ' s seating can be reconfigured to accommodate from 10 , 253 for sporting events up to 13 , 800 for concerts . The arena is located on its 14 acre site above a raised plinth , below which is located a parking garage for 640 cars . The facility includes a exhibit hall as well as the adjacent Chrysler Hall , a music and theater venue , home to the Virginia Symphony Orchestra ) . During preparations for the first hosting of the Ringling Bros . and Barnum & Bailey Circus , a bear escaped its cage and ran across the wet paint on the floor of the unfinished Exhibition Hall below . During the first presentation in the Exhibition Hall of the Hampton Roads Automobile Show , visitors could spot bear tracks in the painted floor , between the exhibitions . ( Source : " The Virginian - Pilot " ) Hostings . Norfolk Scope is currently home to the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League , seating 8 , 725 for hockey . It has hosted the Admirals since the team began in the East Coast Hockey League in 1989 , and stayed as the home arena as the franchise moved up to the AHL in 2000 . Also 2011 the Scope will be the home of the Norfolk SharX that will play in the MISL . In previous years , Norfolk Scope was home to an arena football team , the Norfolk Nighthawks and the now - defunct American Basketball Association ( ABA ) professional basketball franchise Virginia Squires . The Squires played at Scope , the Roanoke Civic Center , Richmond Coliseum and Hampton Roads Coliseum ( now Hampton Coliseum ) – all within the state of Virginia – from 1971 to 1976 . Norfolk Scope also served as the venue of the 1974 ABA All - Star Game . The Virginia Squires played their first game at Scope on November 27 , 1970 ( versus the Dallas Chapparals , now known as the San Antonio Spurs ) and their last game on April 7 , 1976 , versus the New York Nets . The arena was home to Old Dominion University men ' s college basketball , until the campus ' own 8 , 639 - seat ( basketball ) arena , the Ted Constant Convocation Center , opened in Norfolk in October 2002 . Wrestling Basketball Boxing Heavyweight < br > Welterweight < br >