Curtis Hixon Hall

The construction of newer and more specialized facilities around town during the 1980s gradually reduced the number of events held at Curtis Hixon Hall, and the opening of the much larger Tampa Convention Center in 1990 made it obsolete.

Curtis Hixon Hall was planned and built in the early 1960s during the administration of Tampa mayor Nick Nuccio, who pushed for the construction of many public works projects around town.

[3] Construction of the 62,000 square feet (5,800 m2) facility cost approximately $5 million and was mostly financed by municipal bonds issued by the city of Tampa.

[8] Other notable fighters appearing at Curtis Hixon Hall included Earnie Shavers, Emile Griffith, José Roman, Vicente Rondón, and Maurice Watkins.

Many of the top musical performers of the era played at Curtis Hixon Hall, including Bob Dylan (both solo and as part of the Rolling Thunder Revue),[10]The Who, the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Monkees, Chuck Berry, Led Zeppelin, Jefferson Airplane, Johnny Cash, Elton John, Elvis Presley, Black Sabbath, Sly & The Family Stone, The Jackson 5, Eagles, Santana, Bob Marley and The Wailers, The Beach Boys, KISS, ZZ Top, Hank Williams Jr., The Isley Brothers, Van Halen, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Rush, The Kinks, Talking Heads, Dire Straits, U2, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, among many others.