Venue History
The Colisée is a 67,000 square foot multipurpose facility, seating approximately 2,634 for hockey and up to 4,500+ for concerts. The multi-purpose facility can also host a wide variety of events including boxing, basketball, rodeos, ice shows, theatrical productions and trade-shows. The Colisée has over 800 parking spaces with additional adjacent street parking.
The Colisée (formerly , The Androscoggin Bank Colisee and The Central Maine Youth Center) was built in 1958-1959 to replace St. Dominics Regional High. Currently owned and operated by Firland Management Colisée LLC, the Arena has a long and proud history of a variety of events.
It was the venue for the Heavyweight Boxing Championship rematch between Sonny Liston and Muhammad Ali. On May 25, 1965, Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) beat Liston in under three minutes.
The Maine Nordiques were the primary tenant at the Civic Center from 1973 – 1977. The colorful team with a cast of characters right out of the movie Slap Shot were members of the old North American Hockey League.
The Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association played exhibition games at the Civic Center taking advantage of what was at the time the largest portable floor in the world.
The Lewiston MAINEiacs, a junior ice hockey team of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and 2006 president cup winners spent eight great seasons at the Colisée. They came to the arena in 2003 with a promise that it would be renovated.
The strong showing of Lewiston and St. Dom’s high schools has resulted in several state and New England high school championships through the years. The longest continuous tenants of the Civic Center have been playing hockey on Birch Street since the building’s inception in 1958. The high school tournaments to this day continue to bring in a raucous audience of rabid fans and serve as a reminder of why the Civic Center was built in the first place.
The Colisée is also host to a number of trade-shows. Since 2008 it has hosted the Androscoggin County Business to Business trade show – the largest business trade-show in Maine as well as the annual Maine Home Show.
The Colisee has added over $4 million in renovations to the facility since 2005. The renovations included new administrative offices, food court/taverns and a third floor.
Positioned as the main venue for entertainment & recreation in Androscoggin County and beyond, Maine Nordiques continues to connect with the community by bringing in popular productions, growing youth hockey programs and hosting the Maine Nordiques of the NAHL as well as Maine Nordiques Youth. The Colisée has hosted the Maine Democratic Convention, AHL Portland Pirates and NCAA University of Maine hockey games as well as the World Famous Lipizanner Stallions, First Robotics Competition, New England Fights “Fight Night” mixed martial arts series and the annual Shrine Circus.
