Reynolds Coliseum: revitalizing an icon

After 15 months of renovations, the university expects Reynolds Coliseum’s construction to be complete between August and October. With the changes, NC State Athletics attempts to celebrate past glories with current and upcoming students. 

A Walk of Fame and History will feature the history of all 23 NC State sports and their achievements and, for the first time, Reynolds will have air conditioning. Other upgrades include new handrails for the upper seating bollards and wider aisles for fans to be able to move freely all through the building.

The remodeling began in March 2015 and costs an estimated $35 million. The arena will seat about 5,500 people. Previously, the coliseum seated up to 12,400 people. 

“I’m very excited that Reynolds is going to be right in the center of campus right beside Talley,” said Tim Peeler, writer and editor at University Relations, which communicates information about the university’s achievements. “Right in a place where everybody could go and learn about the history of success that NC State basketball and NC State wrestling and gymnastic and volleyball and all the sports that compete in Reynolds that’s going to be represented inside the Walk of Fame.”

To NC State alumni and staff, Reynolds Coliseum is more than just a basketball arena. It is memories of registering for classes before the internet, seeing Mick Jagger dance live, and young David Thompson throwing baskets from the center of the court. 

“In its prime, Reynolds was the location in Raleigh to have any kind of big event,” Peeler said. “Whether it’s a gubernatorial ball after an election or a high school graduation or NC State graduations.”

In May 2005, Reynolds suffered minimal fire damages but crews were able to repair the structure quickly. The 2005 renovations included new lighting and a new sound system.

Reynolds Coliseum opened in 1949 as a multipurpose arena on campus, hosting agricultural exhibitions, basketball games, annual homecoming events and high school graduation ceremonies.

The coliseum also hosted concerts and special events on campus, including performances from The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Elton John, and speeches from U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke in Reynolds in July 1966.

After a North Carolina Farmers’ Week meeting held outdoors was ruined by rain, David Clark positioned for the construction of the arena in 1940. However, a steel shortage delayed its construction. The foundation structure of the coliseum was completed in 1943 but had to stop because of the United States’ involvement in World War II, the construction resumed in 1948.

The arena was named in honor of William Neal Reynolds of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He was one of four brothers who started the Reynolds Tobacco Company.

“He had given money to different colleges and universities including NC State to help support faculty and for other areas,” said Thomas Stafford, former vice chancellor.

In December 1949, the first men’s basketball game was played in the arena against Washington and Lee, 67-47. The first women’s basketball game was played in December 1974, 25 years later. 

In the late 1950s, people from all around North Carolina would visit Raleigh to attend Friends of the College, a concert series that featured artists from all around the world. It was a significant part of the NC State campus at the time, according to Stafford.

“These were world class performances, classical music, opera, pianists and violinists who were world-renowned and when this concert series started they had seven performances and you can buy a season ticket for $7,” Stafford said. 

The series, which ran for 35 years and averaged more than 17,000 ticket sales, aimed to expose as many people as possible to the best music and dance for the lowest possible prices.