Grady Cole Center is a small civic center located near Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The 3,000 seat center is located near the city's center, and can host several types of events. It was built in 1954 to replace the Charlotte Armory Arena, which had been destroyed by fire. Originally the Park Center, it was renamed in 1987 in honor of WBT Radio morning personality, Grady Cole.
The building was an important venue for Jim Crockett Promotions during the organization's heyday.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Grady Cole center served as the practice facility for the Charlotte Hornets.
The center is located on the same complex as American Legion Memorial Stadium.
The arena hosted the 2007 CIAA women's volleyball tournament. The arena also hosted the Internet-only pay-per-view ROH The Big Bang! on April 3, 2010.
Queens University of Charlotte will use the arena for athletic events in 2012 while construction work is done on their usual on-campus home.
Famous quotes containing the words cole and/or center:
““Orders to shoot on sight.” I thought he said the bloke was invisible!”
—Lester Cole (1904–1985)
“Death is someone you see very clearly with eyes in the center of your heart: eyes that see not by reacting to light, but by reacting to a kind of a chill from within the marrow of your own life.”
—Thomas Merton (1915–1968)