This issue caused Austin to revise his plans several times, eliminating certain details and shrinking the size of the building's footprint, but these cost-cutting measures would not bring the cost down to fit into the original budget.

Beecher's administration began to come under fire from the ex-mayor James E. Burke, who wrote an open letter to the editor in the Free Press on 20 January 1927 criticizing the cost of the new building.

[2] On 2 March 1927, the Burlington Free Press publicly released Austin's plans for the auditorium, and during the next month and a half Beecher's administration determined that an extra $100,000 would be needed beyond the initial bond appropriation of $150,000 to complete the building as projected.

On 15 April the issue for an extra bond was put to the voters of Burlington, who overwhelmingly approved the measure, supposedly with only one objection to the plan.

The building was inaugurated on 28 March 1928 with a dedication in front of a crowd of 3,000 people, attended by numerous Vermont dignitaries, which featured a speech by Governor John E. Weeks.

[3] Though equipped with a stage and proscenium, the building was also set up with a wood floor and basketball goals suitable for sporting events.

[3] During the 1950s, the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service leased offices in the basement, presumably given Vermont's northern border with Canada not far away.

On April 26, 1994, Fatu and Samu defeated Jacques and Pierre for the World Tag Team Championship, marking the only time a WWE title of any kind changed hands in Vermont.

[7] In October 1988, Memorial Auditorium was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing building to the Main Street–College Street Historic District, which had been designated as part of a larger effort to protect the city's distinctive mixed commercial and residential core in the face of the broader movement of urban renewal that swept much of the United States during the 1960s, '70s, and '80s.

From the 1990s onwards, the city's commitment to maintenance and repairs to the building, which of course annually weathers the harsh Vermont winters, began to wane.