# Boxing Venues (present and past)



## mckeenan (Apr 17, 2013)

I think it's a good idea to have a list of boxing venues (present and past). I suggest the following template:



Name of the building (opening year), City/Country.
Capacity
Architect/designer (if relevant)
One picture (from outside)
Brief description: other uses of the building, brief history, etc.
Highlights: Some of the best fights fought there
Pictures: A couple of pics of the venue in a fight night.
Link to the venue in SSC and/or Wikipedia.

I'll try the first one...

PD: For the images, please follow the rules. Best if you use pics from flickr (creative commons licensed). Use share->BB code for insert. Not very large pics, please!


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## mckeenan (Apr 17, 2013)

*MGM Grand Garden Arena*

*MGM Grand Garden Arena (1993). Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.*
Capacity: 16800, all seater.


MGM Grand – The City of Entertainment by James Marvin Phelps, on Flickr

The MGM Grand Garden is an indoor venue located at the MGM Grand Las Vegas hotel casino. It was inaugurated in December 1993, adn it is owned and operated by MGM Resorts International. This venue had hosted many notable events such live concerts (including Elton John, Sarah Brightman, Pearl Jam and many others), charity events, and various sports. But ultimately, what had made this arena globally known is boxing. It probably hosted more boxing superfights than any other boxing venue. Here are some of the best fights:

Tyson vs. Holyfield (November 9, 1996) "Finally"
Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II (June 28, 1997) "The Sound and the Fury"
De La Hoya vs. Mayweather (May 5, 2007) "The World Awaits"
Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao (December 6, 2008) "The Dream Match"
Floyd Mayweather vs. Saúl Álvarez (September 14, 2013) "The One"


Round 12 by bryce_edwards, on Flickr


Boxing ring, MGM Grand by runneralan2004, on Flickr

More info:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MGM_Grand_Garden_Arena
Official Web site: http://www.mgmgrand.com/entertainment/grand-garden-arena.aspx
Venue Review: http://www.ringsidebygus.com/mgm-grand.html


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## carnifex2005 (May 12, 2010)

*The Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA*
Capacity: 1500
Opened: 1961
Closed: 2010

The Ring magazine voted it the number-one boxing venue in the world, and Sports Illustrated noted it as the last great boxing venue in the country.


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## Double Duty (Aug 20, 2012)

Grand Olympic Auditorium (BLT. 1924), Los Angeles, California, USA
Capacity: 15,300 (1924), 10,000 (1993), 7,030 (2000's)

Photos by Theo Ehret:

















Site of the boxing, wrestling and weightlifting events of the 1932 Summer Olympics. Throughout the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s it was home to some of the biggest boxing, wrestling and roller derby events and has become somewhat of a landmark for boxing history. Some scenes in the 1976 film Rocky were filmed at the venue.


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## Double Duty (Aug 20, 2012)

Blackpool Tower Circus (BLT. 1894), Blackpool, Lancashire, England
Capacity: 1,350


















Located as it is directly under the four legs of the Tower, Blackpool Tower Circus is uniquely suited as a venue for sporting events. From when it opened in 1894, right up to the present day. The Circus has been used for boxing and many other sporting contests, including snooker, wrestling, and table-tennis. The all-round seating arrangement with a capacity of 1350 means that the audience all have a good view of the action in the centre, and nobody is seated too far back.


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## Walbanger (Jan 10, 2006)

Sydney Stadium (the Old Tin Shed)









Sydney_Stadium


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## Double Duty (Aug 20, 2012)

York Hall (BLT. 1929), Bethnal Green, London, England

Capacity: 1,200










Opened in 1929, York Hall in Bethnal Green has had a colourful history, initially as a public baths and now as the home of British boxing. With a capacity of 1200, the York Hall stages some of the UK's biggest boxing events.


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## Double Duty (Aug 20, 2012)

Not many of these are left in England and Australia...

Ron Taylor's Boxing Booth, England









Ron Taylor's Boxing Booth by Mr Horse on Flickr


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## ExSydney (Sep 12, 2002)

Walbanger said:


> Sydney Stadium (the Old Tin Shed)
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Sydney Stadium!
Yes..a true made for boxing venue.

Built in 1908 to host the Heavyweight Championship of the World and on Boxing Day,1908,hosted one of the most famous fights in the history of Boxing
Tommy Burns vs Jack Johnson


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## 3SPIRES (Dec 14, 2006)

Double Duty said:


> Opened in 1929, York Hall in Bethnal Green has had a colourful history, initially as a public baths and now as the home of British boxing. With a capacity of 1200, the York Hall stages some of the UK's biggest boxing events.


I would call York Hall the spiritual home of British boxing but it's wrong to say it "stages some of the UK's biggest boxing events". The big arena fights are normally held at Manchester Arena or the O2 in London with c.20,000 capacities. Some bigger events are held at football grounds like the Froch v Groves 2 at Wembley Stadium (90,000) last year. 

IMO as a boxing fan the Meccas of world boxing are all in the USA namely Madison Square Garden (New York), Boardwalk Hall (Atlantic City) and the MGM Grand Arena (Las Vegas).


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## Double Duty (Aug 20, 2012)

Arena Coliseo (BLT. 1943), Mexico City, DF, Mexico 
Capacity: 6,863


















Arena Mexico (BLT. 1956), Mexico City, DF, Mexico
Capacity: 16,500


















Although both venues are primarily known for hosting lucha libre, some of Mexico's greatest boxers have fought in one (or both) of these facilities. Arena Mexico hosted the boxing competition of the 1968 Olympics.


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