Norfolk Scope

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Norfolk Scope
Location 201 East Brambleton Avenue
Norfolk, VA 23510
Broke ground June 6, 1968[1]
Opened November 12, 1971
Owner City of Norfolk
Operator City of Norfolk
Construction cost $35 million
($202 million in 2014 dollars[ 1])
$14.5 million (upgrades since 2003)
Architect Pier Luigi Nervi
Williams and Tazewell
Structural engineer Fraioli-Blum-Yesselman[2]
General contractor Daniel Construction Co.[3]
Capacity Ice hockey: 8,701
Basketball: 10,253
Concerts: 13,800
Tenants
Norfolk Admirals (AHL) (1989–present)
Norfolk SharX (MISL) (2011-2012)
Virginia Squires (1971-1976) (ABA)

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 2,500-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 the PalaLottomatica and the much smaller Palazzetto dello Sport, which were 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.[4]

Featuring the world's largest reinforced thinshell concrete dome, Scope won the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects Test of Time award in 2003.[5] Wes Lewis, director of Old Dominion University's civil engineering technology program, called it "a beautiful marrying of art and engineering."[5] Noted architectural critic James Howard Kunstler described the design as looking like "yesterday's tomorrow."[5]

The name "Scope", a contraction of kaleidoscope,[6] 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.[6][7]

History and design

After watching the 1960 Rome Summer Olympics on television, and seeing the Palazzo and Palazzetto dello Sport, Brad Tazewell and Jim Williams, two Norfolk architects, 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.[4] 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.

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 65,000 sq ft (6,000 m2) exhibit hall as well as the adjacent Chrysler Hall, a music and theater venue, home to the Virginia Symphony Orchestra). The arena's seating can be reconfigured to accommodate from 10,253 for sporting events up to 13,800 for concerts.

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 — and was displaced as the record holder after the construction of the Seattle Kingdome. After the demolition of the larger Kingdome in 2000, Scope reclaimed the title as having the world's largest reinforced thin-shell concrete dome. Supported by 24 flying buttresses, the arena roof encloses 85,000 sq ft (7,900 m2). With over 1000 pilings, the facility was constructed 10' below the city's water table. The roof is a ribbed concrete dome, independent of seating blowl formed of sloped concrete beams supporting precast treads and risers which form the seating bowl. The perimeter of the dome roof is supported by a combination of vertical columns and inclined buttresses, which tie into a tension ring below ground. A concentric ring, approximately 7' 9" wide, is suspended from the dome, for service and lighting needs.

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)

The arena has underwent $11 million of renovations since 2003, including the replacement of a center-hung scoreboard with a matrix screen on each side with a center-hung scoreboard with LED video and matrix boards and two LED end-zone videoboards in 2008. A new glass wall has been installed, and is expected to be extended in order to expand the arena's main concourse at a cost of $3.5 million in 2014. This would result in additional restrooms and concession stands at the arena.

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. Norfolk Scope also served as the venue of the 1974 ABA All-Star Game.[8]

The Squires were a regional franchise that played at Scope, the Roanoke Civic Center, Richmond Coliseum and Hampton Roads Coliseum (now Hampton Coliseum) – all within the state of Virginia – from 1970 to 1976.[8] The Squires moved to Virginia after spending one year in Washington, D.C. as the Washington Caps (1969–70), and two years in Oakland as the Oakland Oaks (1967–69). The Virginia Squires played their first game at Scope on November 27, 1970 versus the Dallas Chaparrals, (now known as the San Antonio Spurs) and their last game on April 7, 1976, versus the New York Nets.[9] Hall of Fame player Julius Erving, "Dr. J", played for the Squires in the 1971-72 and 1972-73 seasons, after leaving UMass early to sign with the ABA.[10] The franchise was not included in the 1976 ABA-NBA merger.[8]

The arena hosted some Old Dominion University men's college basketball games until the university opened its own 8,639-seat basketball arena, the Ted Constant Convocation Center, in October 2002. [citation needed]

Wrestling

Basketball

Boxing Heavyweight

  • Larry Holmes against Eric "Butterbean" Esch (Holmes' last fight) – 2002 Promoted by Daryl DeCroix and Frank Azzalina along with Don DeBias Jr, also in which DeBias designed the Slogan and Name of the Title Match as "Respect..One will give it, One will get it"

Welterweight
[11]

Seasons
Playoffs
All-Star Games

References

  1. ↑ "Scope Cultural and Convention Center Groundbreaking Ceremony". Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority. June 6, 1968. Archived from the original on August 12, 2013. Retrieved August 12, 2013. 
  2. ↑ Norfolk Dome - Timeline: Important Precedents in Stadium Design
  3. ↑ "Norfolk's Coliseum to Be Ready November 1". The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg). December 30, 1970. Retrieved February 20, 2012. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Walzer, Philip (July 25, 2011). "Architect Left His Mark on Many Iconic Norfolk Structures". The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk). Retrieved July 26, 2011. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 'S+SCOPE+WINS+'TIME-TESTED'+ARCHITECTURE+PRIZE&pqatl=google "Norfolk's Scope Wins 'Time-Tested' Architecture Prize". Daily Press (Newport News). November 9, 2003. Retrieved July 30, 2011. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Wilson, Patrick (March 23, 2009). "What's in a Name? Scope Arena, Norfolk". The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk). Retrieved July 30, 2011. 
  7. ↑ "Celebrate America this July with Gary Kollberg's Exhibit at the Farmington Library". Farmington, CT: Farmington Library of Art. July 1, 2009. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Virginia Squires". Remember the ABA. Retrieved August 12, 2013. 
  9. ↑ "Yearly Recaps". Remember the ABA. Retrieved August 12, 2013. 
  10. ↑ "Julius Erving". Remember the ABA. Retrieved August 12, 2013. 
  11. ↑ BoxRec website

External links

Events and tenants
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2008 		Succeeded by
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Coordinates: 36°51′11.79″N 76°17′12.20″W / 36.8532750°N 76.2867222°W / 36.8532750; -76.2867222

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