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The well-known local arena once played host to an ice rink show.
Julianne Rainone Jacob / Archival image courtesy of the Virginia Room, Roanoke Public Libraries
There once was an indoor ice skating rink in Salem.
Holiday on Ice, an ice rink show, was the first major attraction hosted by the Salem-Roanoke Valley Civic Center in 1967, the year the center opened its doors. The $2.5 million center, pictured here fronting Roanoke Boulevard, was coined the single most talked about project in Salem at the time, according to “Salem: A Virginia Chronicle” by Norwood Middleton.
That’s because the city needed a large, arena-like space to host sports, civic activities, cultural events, entertainment, and more. After at least six years of planning and deliberation, including an invitation to the City of Roanoke to share in the building’s operation, the center was built. Rather than Roanoke joining in on the project, Roanoke County helped to finance the center. Later, the facility was called Salem-Roanoke County Civic Center and then, Salem Civic Center when Salem became sole owner in 1983.
Nowadays, you won’t find an ice rink at the center. But over the years, it hosted a slew of ice hockey games by the former Salem Rebels team, concerts by such well-known acts as Conway Twitty and Kenny Chesney, home shows, rodeos, a visit from President Richard Nixon in 1969, boxing matches featuring Muhammed Ali and much more.
The civic center now is considered the hub of the 65-acre James E. Taliaferro Sports and Entertainment Complex, which includes Salem Football Stadium and the Salem Memorial Baseball Park, home of the Salem Red Sox minor league team.
Like many entertainment venues nationwide, the coronavirus pandemic forced the center to get creative last summer. For the first time in its history, it opened its parking lot for several drive-in concerts, spreading out cars in every other parking space, at 200 total, to allow room for physical distancing.
Attendees were invited to listen to live music from inside their vehicles or while sitting in chairs in front of each car. The drive-in concerts of 2020 marked another noteworthy period in the center’s long history.
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