Although the arena was located on the campus of Texas Tech University, it was owned and operated by the City of Lubbock until 2018.

The Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences, located downtown at the intersection of Marsha Sharp Freeway and Ave L, opened in 2020 to replace the Auditorium.

The Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team began playing at the Coliseum during the 1956–57 season.

The Coliseum also hosted the Midwest Regional semi-final and final games of the 1966 NCAA Men's Division I basketball tournament won by the Texas Western Miners (now UTEP), who went on to upset the Kentucky Wildcats in the national championship game in College Park, Maryland.

The auditorium hosted its final event on September 27, 2018, when Robert Plant performed with his band, The Sensational Space Shifters.

[5] The auditorium was demolished in April and May 2019 along with the attached Lubbock Municipal Coliseum following the land's transfer of ownership back to Texas Tech University.