The arena, which opened in 1955, held 8,200 people and was eventually replaced by the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in 1989.

Despite a strong fan base the Cougars were sold and moved to St. Louis in 1974, becoming the Spirits of St.

Wake Forest moved its entire home basketball schedule to the Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem for the 1956–57 season, although the team did play two games in the facility one year earlier.

The historic building was not popular with Deacon followers in its final years, but no one could argue with the success Wake Forest teams had here.

The Demon Deacons won 250 games in Memorial Coliseum and lost only 94 for an impressive 72.7 winning percentage.