Nowicki, Matthew, et al.; Muirhead, William, Construction
NRHP reference No.
73001375
[1]
Added to NRHP
April 11, 1973
J. S. Dorton Arena is a 7,610-seat multi-purpose arena located in Raleigh, North Carolina, on the grounds of the North Carolina State Fair. It opened in 1952.
Architect Maciej Nowicki of the North Carolina State University Department of Architecture was killed in an airplane crash before the construction phase. Local architect William Henley Dietrick supervised the completion of the arena using Nowicki's innovative design. Said design features a steel cable supported saddle-shaped roof in tension, held up by parabolic concrete arches in compression. The arches cross about 20 feet above ground level and continue underground, where their ends are held together by more steel cables in tension. The outer walls of the arena support next to no weight at all.
Dorton Arena was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on April 11, 1973.[1] Originally named the "State Fair Arena", it was dedicated to Dr. J. S. Dorton, former North Carolina State Fair manager, in 1961.[2]
In the past, it has hosted many sporting events, concerts, political rallies and circuses.
^ ab"National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
^Survey and Planning Unit Staff (August 1972). "J.S. Dorton Arena" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2015-05-01.
J. S. DortonArena is a 7,610-seat multi-purpose arena located in Raleigh, North Carolina, on the grounds of the North Carolina State Fair. It opened in...
Carolina State Fairgrounds and DortonArena (on the Fairgrounds). The arena also hosted the Carolina Cobras of the Arena Football League from 2000 to 2002...
resumed in 2021. The fairground's most significant structure is J. S. DortonArena, a 7,500-seat stadium designed by architects Matthew Nowicki and William...
Arena football is a variety of eight-man indoor gridiron football. The game is played indoors on a smaller field than American or Canadian football, designed...
team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1991 and playing at DortonArena, located at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds, the IceCaps were members...
seats. The list is composed mostly of arenas that house sports teams (basketball, ice hockey, arena soccer and arena football) and serve as indoor venues...
(Greensboro Coliseum), Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum and Raleigh (DortonArena). Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown began his coaching career with the Cougars...
largest arena at the time. Games were also regularly played in Charlotte at the (original) Charlotte Coliseum and in Raleigh at DortonArena and Reynolds...
may have been at least partially influenced by the equally innovative DortonArena at the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh, completed in 1952. Veterans...
and Richard Rogers Partnership Denver International Airport, Denver DortonArena, Raleigh Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia by Heery and Weidlinger Associates...
bouting to sell-out crowds at the Ranch, the league moved to historic DortonArena at the State Fairgrounds, although the Skate Ranch would remain its practice...
hyperbolic paraboloid saddle roof: The Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, 1983 DortonArena designed by Maciej Nowicki, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, 1952...
with the former AIF owner stating his support for the recently created Arena Developmental League. In 2021, league owner John Morris announced he planned...
come to Raleigh, NC Friday, February 26th 2016 LIVE at the world famous DORTONARENA!". big-time-wrestling. Retrieved 21 January 2016. "FAN Countdown: Top...
known players from local colleges. The team played its home games at DortonArena. The Cougars were owned by Clyde "The Glide" Austin, a former Harlem...
S. State of North Carolina. Venues are separated into three categories: Arenas, race tracks, and stadiums. Each category may be sorted by venue name, location...
crowd at J.S. DortonArena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Landel often claimed this crowd broke Elvis Presley's attendance record at the arena, but this has...
complete for two more years. The only arena in the Triangle area with an ice plant was 45-year-old DortonArena; at 5,100 seats, it was too small even...
(Greensboro Coliseum), Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum and Raleigh (DortonArena and Reynolds Coliseum). Hall of Fame Coach Larry Brown began his coaching...
Lange, Jeremy M. (December 5, 2015). "Photo Journal: Donald Trump at DortonArena". Indy Week. Retrieved November 27, 2016. Tibbetts, Ed (December 5, 2015)...
via prefabrication. The construction of the Hant Arena, which is a partial copy of the DortonArena in Raleigh, USA, was challenging, provocative and...
than any other current indoor football league. With the closure of the Arena Football League in 2019, the IFL is the oldest active professional indoor...
Church, 1955, St Leonards on Sea, United Kingdom, Adrian Gilbert Scott DortonArena 1957, Raleigh St Mary's Star of the Sea Cathedral, 1958–62, Darwin, Australia...