A dazzling A-list of musical stars thrilled generations of fans inside this landmark music and sports venue, making the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee iconic both architecturally and culturally. Still much-loved by the local community, it’s been at risk of demolition for the past few years, with volunteers campaigning to save the trailblazing arena. Now, a development proposal has come to light, which could give the stadium a second lease of life. Captured in all its glory by photographer Leland Kent of Abandoned Southeast, click or scroll on to take a look around and discover the proposed plans for its future. Let's go!

Looking like a spaceship has landed in Memphis, the building's futuristic architecture was designed to be functional, clean and keep costs down. Huge bell-bottom caissons underpin the unusual structure, while 713 tons of steel was reportedly used to create the vast steel-domed roof. The Coliseum is pictured here shortly after it opened its doors in 1964. Designed by architects Furbringer and Ehrman – who also built Elvis Presley's Graceland – and Robert Lee Hall & Associates, it was Memphis’ first racially integrated facility.

Built at a cost of $4.7 million (£3.7m), the dome's beams, columns and concourses are made of fireproofed concrete. Fast-forward to the present day and you can still see the colourful modern murals on the exterior depicting scenes from its glitzy past. Photographed here by Leland Kent of Abandoned Southeast, the landmark building seems to have weathered the decades pretty well. 

This entrance area would have been bustling with excited visitors in its heyday. You can see the original terrazzo tile flooring, which has stood the test of time very well considering the decades of dancing shoes that must have walked across it. Some stains across the floor and a few absent ceiling tiles are the only signs that the venue has been closed long-term. You can almost imagine a flood of visitors has just left after an evening of music or sport…

A smartly-painted concessions shop looks ready to sell you popcorn and refreshments. Helpful blue signs point the way to seating areas and the bathrooms, however, a ceiling tile has flapped open and electrical cables litter the floor. The Coliseum was intended to seat 10,000 people and it was designed with modern power and lighting systems, fire and smoke detection, sound systems, plus radio and television systems. It quickly became a major hotspot for music, sports, meetings, banquets, trade shows and conventions.

Unused popcorn containers and old bags of peanuts have been left behind by the arena's last revellers. The Coliseum's inaugural event in 1964 was the Ringling Brothers Circus. This was followed by the Goodwill Revue, a show that featured top R&B singer Brook Benton, plus Johnny Nash, The Marvelettes – and a then-little-known Otis Redding! Many of these musicians were signed to Stax Records, a record company close to the Coliseum and at the heart of the Memphis soul scene in the 1960s and 1970s.

You get a thrilling sense of sitting among the crowd in this shot. Amazingly, the seating is original but with revamped upholstery. The Coliseum became known as the entertainment capital of the mid-South, so it was a big draw for the most famous music stars. It’s one of only eleven venues worldwide that's hosted performances by both Elvis Presley and The Beatles, and one of the final places the latter performed live.

This amazing snapshot of musical history shows The Beatles performing at the Mid-South Coliseum on their last American tour in 1966. The group played two concerts here in August 1966, but they were faced with protests following John Lennon’s controversial ‘more popular than Jesus’ remarks, made in an interview five months earlier.

The Beatles delivered a blazing performance despite anonymous death threats and protests by terrorist group the Ku Klux Klan. However, the band was terrified when a member of the audience threw a firecracker onstage, which sounded like a gunshot. Nevertheless, the music continued. One of the few signs of wear in the arena, dirt has gathered like scorch marks around some of the vents in the ceiling and a couple of tiles have fallen down, leaving gaping holes above the rows of seating.

This panoramic shot gives you an idea of just how huge the Coliseum is, especially for a mid-1960s venue. The dome ceiling is lined with suspended acoustic tiles created by sound firm Tracor Inc., and the glazed tile walls are perforated and filled with acoustic material for optimum sound transmission. Even the seat bottoms are perforated to enhance free-flowing sound.

The list of music stars who performed at the Mid-South Coliseum is extraordinary and includes The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Prince, Frank Sinatra, Van Halen, Ike and Tina Turner, Ozzy Osborne, Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Jay-Z and many more. Long lines of fans form outside the Coliseum in this 1976 snapshot. Who could they be so eager to see?

It's The King, of course! Rock 'n' roll icon Elvis Presley entertained adoring fans at the Coliseum on 16 March 1974. It was his first show in Memphis since 1961. His next performance at the Coliseum, just days later, was recorded live for a concert album. Presley returned the following year at the close of his second tour on 10 June 1975, and his last performance here was in July 1976, about a year before his death.

Lights illuminate the stage in this atmospheric shot. During performances, the arena was lit with incandescent and colour-corrected mercury vapor lights for a spectacular show. Pictured here, the stage is cluttered with boxes and even a small boat. This odd collection is perhaps due to the Coliseum's new function as a storage facility for the city, following its closure as an entertainment venue.

Bringing an extra helping of stardust, the music legend who performed most frequently at the venue was the godfather of soul himself, James Brown. Here he is pictured on stage at the Coliseum in 1971, holding a microphone and presenting an award to a band called The Dramatics and their manager.

You get a sweeping view down towards the stage here. Notice the large number of tiles missing from the ceiling – but the American flag still hangs proudly. The dangling pendant scoreboard is an interesting feature, which looks especially retro. It ensured the audience could keep a tally of goals during the numerous sports games which were held here.

Look at this incredible view from the sound operator's perch. Notice the vintage light machine complete with joystick controls. The Coliseum was a game-changer for sports in the region. The Memphis Wings ice hockey team were the first pro sports group to take residence in the Coliseum. It also briefly became home to a basketball team now called the Atlanta Hawks. The games were considered trailblazing in the 1960s, as white and black members played on the same team. 

From this view, you can see the sound operator’s perch from a distance. Notice the seating letters emblazoned on the tiled wall. Sadly, signs of what appears to be damp are creeping across the floor in front of the top-row seating. The Coliseum was also known for professional wrestling. Pro-wrestler legend Jerry Lawler headlined hundreds of shows here that regularly drew huge crowds from 1970 to 1991. In 1982, Jerry wrestled against comedian Andy Kaufman, ending in a legendary theatrical beatdown of the cringe-humour comic.  

A dangerous piledriver throw then saw Kaufman taken away on a stretcher. The pair later had a faux dispute on David Letterman's TV show. But it was all an act! This over-the-top performance is credited as the start of modern pro wrestling. The shows sold out for years until insurance companies refused to cover increasingly crazy antics and wrestling came to an end at the Coliseum. Look at this fear-inducing system of catwalks up in the dome ceiling, which was set up for lighting maintenance.

Here’s a close-up of that retro electronic scoreboard. Worryingly, there seem to be fewer thin wires holding it up on one side than the other! You can see a mesh of wooden beams through some of the missing roof tiles. In 1991, the People’s Convention convened in the Coliseum to select an African-American candidate for Memphis mayor. The chosen candidate was Dr. W. W. Herenton, who went on to become the first elected Black mayor of Memphis.

Looking down on the arena, the seats seem as tiny as doll's chairs. You can see how each seating section is angled for the perfect view. A competitor crept up on the Coliseum in 1991 – the new Pyramid Arena, which could seat 20,000 people. Some sports teams migrated to the larger venue, but the two arenas coexisted for a while, with the Coliseum still making a profit. However, its decades-long reign as the sole supreme entertainment venue was over.

Look at this incredible old lighting control board! It must have been a thrill to operate this during a big performance. The Coliseum has no windows to maximise the light show. Now, many of the buttons are taped over with warnings not to press them, presumably as they are now a safety hazard. In the 2000s, the City of Memphis built the FedEx Forum, which added further pressure on the Coliseum’s ability to draw a crowd.

Each folding chair is embossed with the name of the Coliseum. In 2005, the arena fell foul of equal access laws under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The City of Memphis remediated the issues but finally closed the Coliseum's doors to the public in 2006. In a blow to the glamour of its past, the 24,000-square-foot arena floor was relegated to a storage facility for the city.

Here’s another view of the snack shop, which seems to be in much better condition than the rest of the venue. In addition to the arena and lobby, the Coliseum has eight dressing rooms, with showers for headliners, along with four sports team dressing rooms. The Mid-South Coliseum was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

Lines of neatly stacked chairs look ready to be lined up for another evening of entertainment. Only spots of rust dotted across the frames betray the fact they’ve not been used for years. In October 2022, Memphis mayor Jim Strickland announced a plan to demolish the Mid-South Coliseum. The proposed project would involve renovating three venues and constructing a new stadium.

Stacked cans and bottles of beer remain frozen in time in the venue’s shop as if waiting for an audience who may never arrive. Luckily, the Coliseum won’t be destroyed without a fight. A dedicated non-profit organisation called the Coliseum Coalition is trying to save this iconic old building. Experience is on their side too, as the group helped to defeat a previous demolition attempt in 2014. What's more, they devised a detailed business plan in 2017 for the modernisation and operation of a revamped Mid-South Coliseum as a mixed-use indoor facility fit for the 21st century. By revamping the Coliseum, the revenue generated from the venue could help fund other local amenities.

Here’s an exterior shot showing the concrete posts that support the massive structure. While the City of Memphis maintains that the area needs its new stadium, the Coliseum Coalition says that the city could save $10 million (£7.9m) in demolition costs by building the new soccer stadium elsewhere. In the latest development in their campaign, the group submitted a list of alternative locations for the stadium's construction to the council on 15 March 2023, according to Action News 5. “There’s no reason we have to choose one or the other,” said Mavin Stockwell, co-founder of the conservation group. The council will now consider the proposal. Let’s hope this iconic landmark will find a new lease of life and escape the wrecking ball.

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