José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum

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José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum

Location	500 Arterial B St., Hato Rey, Puerto Rico Coordinates: 18°25′39.45″N, 66°3′41.39″W
Opened	September 2004
Owner	Puerto Rico Convention Center District Authority
Operator	SMG
Tenants
Santurce Crabbers, BSN
Seats
* Can be configured four ways Minimum 3,500 Maximum 18,000

Aerial view of the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum.

Night view of the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum. Photo taken from the Deportivo Tren Urbano Station.

The José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum, officially named "Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot" (and nicknamed "El Choliseo", in honor of Agrelot's best known character, Don Cholito), is the biggest indoor arena in Puerto Rico dedicated to entertainment.

It can accommodate up to 20,000 spectators. The coliseum opened its doors to the public in September 2004. Even though its history is full of political controversies, the coliseum has given the people of Puerto Rico the opportunity to experience special events that were almost impossible in the smaller arenas of the island. The coliseum, which is owned by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is located at the financial district of San Juan, and managed by SMG. It can be reached by train since there is a nearby Tren Urbano (Urban Train) station. It will be home to the 2006 arenafootball2 ArenaCup championship game, and possibly an af2 expansion team afterwards.

1 History
2 Events at the Coliseum
3 External links

[edit] History

The Coliseum was a project started during the administration of Governor Pedro Rosselló, initially as part of an olympic bid to host the 2004 Olympic Games. The Coliseum would have been used for events such as Gymnastics and Olympic Basketball, but in 1997, Athens was selected to host the games, and the construction of the Coliseum was jeopardized. Recognizing the need for such an arena anyways, the government decided to continue the construction, which finished in 2004 during the administration of Governor Sila María Calderón. The construction caused numerous controversies, including a redesigned interior during the Calderón administration several years into construction, was millions of dollars over budget and took several years to be finished. The facility was also relocated from its original location between the Hiram Bithorn Stadium and the "Roberto Clemente Coliseum" to its current location in the Hato Rey financial district, or "downtown San Juan". The coliseum was finally inaugurated in September 2004.

The naming of the structure caused a controversy by itself. During the construction phase, plans called for the coliseum to be named El Coliseo de Puerto Rico (The Coliseum of Puerto Rico), but some local politicians argued for naming the coliseum after a Puerto Rican celebrity. Some of the names mentioned were that of pop star Ricky Martin, boxer Félix Trinidad and deceased actor Raúl Juliá. But the name of beloved local comedian José "Don Cholito" Miguel Agrelot (he had recently died) was finally chosen when the coliseum was about to open. A bust of "Don Cholito" now stands at the coliseum's lobby.

Another controversy came about when the ticketing distributor was named. An exclusive contract was awarded to Banco Popular's Ticketpop, almost ignoring the bid by competitor TicketCenter. The situation almost went to trial, as both parties argued over who should sell the tickets for the events, but the puertorican government stood by their original contract with Ticketpop. Local producer Angelo Medina spearheaded a group that wanted the legislature to curb the managing powers of SMG, recently named to oversee operations and activities, because they feared that the company's relationship with non-local T.V. companies would limit the participation of local talent in the arena.

Pollstar, the prestigious U.S. based magazine, chose the Puerto Rico Coliseum as the "International Large Venue of the Year 2005". This means it is recognized as one of the most important venues in the world, competing with the Sydney Superdome in Australia; the Manchester Evening News Arena in Manchester, England; The National Auditorium in Mexico City, and the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland.