Overview

Scope and Content

Collection documents the city-owned city facility Reunion Arena, its facilities, and its events.  The bulk of the collection is photographic prints, including musical acts onstage and sporting events.  A small photo series documents the building's facilities, used for arena marketing and planning, as well as documentation of its accommodations for press and media.

Reunion Arena was an indoor arena in the Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena served as the primary home of the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks and the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars.  Its capacity held accommodations for 18,187 basketball and 17,001 ice hockey spectators. Reunion Arena broke ground March 15, 1978, and was completed in 1980 at a cost of $27 million, funded through [bond package].  It was dedicated April 28, 1980, and was named for the nearby 19th-century French socialist community of La Réunion which existed from 1855-1857 a mile or two west of downtown Dallas on the south side of the Trinity River.

The arena featured 30,000 feet of floor space and hosted hundreds of events and games, including many high school graduations.  The first music concert at Reunion was Parliament-Funkadelic and the Bar-Kays on May 9, 1980.  The twin bill of Foghat and Pat Travers put on the first rock concert in Reunion on June 25, 1980.

Several rock bands played consecutive-day shows at Reunion, including Journey (three in July 1983 and three in December 1986), Van Halen (three in June 1984), Pink Floyd (three in November 1987), Whitney Houston (two in September 1987), and Michael Jackson (three in April 1988).  Videos and entire concert recordings were made for such acts as Queen (1980), Judas Priest (June 27, 1986), the Scorpions (1984), Mötley Crüe, and Garth Brooks (1991).  Reunion was also frequently used by World Class Championship Wrestling in the 1980s.

In 1984, the arena hosted the Republican National Convention. In late 2005, the arena and the Dallas Convention Center were used as the primary Dallas shelters for evacuees of Hurricane Katrina.

Its sports tenants included

• Dallas Mavericks, 1980–2001 (National Basketball Association)

• Dallas Tornado, 1980–1981 (North American Soccer League)

• Dallas Sidekicks, 1984–2004 (Major Indoor Soccer League)

• Dallas Texans, 1990–1993 (Arena Football League)

• Dallas Stars, 1993–2001 (National Hockey League) 

• Dallas Stallions, 1999 (Roller Hockey International)

• Dallas Desperados, 2003 (Arena Football League)

Reunion Arena closed on June 30, 2008, and was demolished in November-December 2009.

Addition 1 (2023)

Collection contains bonds and seating certificates related to the newly-built Reunion arena. 

Organization

The original collection is arranged in series: photography, oversized materials, documentation, ephemera, and artifacts. Items are organized in alphabetical order within each series.  The addition is in no specific order.

Access

Permission to publish, reproduce, distribute, or use by any and all other current or future developed methods or procedures must be obtained in writing from the Dallas Municipal Archives. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards.  The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Citation

Reunion Arena, 1979-2010 (Box <x>, Folder <y>), Dallas Municipal Archives

Related Materials

Collection 2014-003 Dallas Convention Center and Reunion Arena Photographs, 1957-1990

Index Terms

Dallas -- Texas -- History
Reunion Arena (Dallas, Tex.)
Sports facilities -- Texas -- Dallas

Container List

Container List - Addition