El Paso County Coliseum Turns 75

The El Paso County Coliseum first opened May 21st, 1942. Since then, it's held rodeos, shows, sporting events, concerts, motorcycle runs, been a POW camp and more!

Everybody in the Borderland ... young, old or in between ... has a Coliseum story. Affectionately known to locals as "The Barn", the place has truly seen and done it all, while becoming a fixture in our collective memories.

My own recollections include taking my daughters to see "Disney On Ice" shows and hanging out with my parents and grandparents at rodeos. Not to mention tattoo expos, Buzzards hockey games, bike runs and a handful of first dates. I went on stage to address a huge crowd, (about 8,500 as I recall), as a KLAQ DJ for the first time in that building and had some of my first "backstage" experiences in there as well. (I'm saving those for the book, sorry.)

And the concerts. Good Lord, the concerts:

Ozzy, UFO, Zombie, (White and Rob), Iron Maiden, Stonesour, Shinedown, Judas Priest, Saxon, Slipknot, Green Day, ZZ Top, Bush, AC/DC,  Aerosmith, Prophets Of Rage, Scorpions, Alice In Chains, Trans Siberian Orchestra, Motorhead, Poison, Anthrax, Megadeth, Godsmack and hundreds ... hell a thousand maybe ... more. Not to mention fights, drug busts, (back in the day, you didn't necessarily need to bring pot to concerts. You'd get high just being in there!), folks carried out, seizures, stabbings, bad trips and some epic "Crazy" Simon moments.

El Paso Sports Commission CEO Brian Kennedy told EP Times:

“We’ve adapted and we’ll keep adapting. As long as we do that, we could be here another 75 years.”

I believe you will Brian, I believe you will!