The Black River Coliseum will be celebrating its 25th anniversary from 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10. The event will feature barbecue, hotdogs and burgers, and a charity event: Sleep in Heavenly Peace intends to build 125 beds.
“I think it’s going to be huge,” BRC Director Greg Smith said.
The celebration is just one event in a long line of gatherings at the facility stretching back to 1999. From concerts to annual conferences, BRC has evolved into an indispensable part of the community, according to Butler County Emergency Manager Robbie Myers.
Poplar Bluff City Council and former city manager Mark Massingham recalled the massive levels of coordination it took to get the building across the finish line.
“It was more concrete than I’ve ever seen in my life,” he described.
Smith started working with the building while it was still being built.
“Greg Smith is that building,” Massingham stated, “He knows this place backwards and forwards.”
Smith started as the operations manager in charge of concessions, coordinating with bands, lighting, sound, heating and cooling, and the pool.
He recalled some growing pains when Jeff Foxworthy performed as the BRC’s first act. Smith got up at 4 a.m. that morning to coordinate preparations. At 5:45 a.m. he was getting ready to shower when someone informed him, “Greg, these chairs are all wrong.”
As it turned out, the manifest for the event and the ticket sales showed different seating arrangements. The team managed to fix the arrangement in time but the sound quality in the metal building presented its own challenges.
Smith remembered installing baffles in the ceiling to prevent reverberation the very next day.
Despite the challenges, the Big Orange Building, or BOB as it came to be known, grew to be a preferred venue of music performers, comedians, and corporations.
“We love how much it is used,” City Manager Matt Winters affirmed. “It’s great to see the activity going on here.”
Attractions include the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual banquet, the United Gospel Rescue Mission Chili Cookoff, an artificial ice rink skating event, and the Friends of the National Rifle Association Banquet.
Myers noted the BRC has also been used as an emergency shelter during floods and ice storms.
The facility has hosted a number of A-list performers, too.
“It’s definitely brought in celebrities over the years,” Massingham remarked.
Smith listed Nelly, 98 Degrees, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams Jr. as some of the more notable acts. Other shows include children’s performers and Christian musicians.
He humorously relayed the sometimes bizarre requests performers put in their contracts.
“We’re always buying underwear and socks,” he said. Many touring artists will simply throw away these items instead of washing them.
“Performers ask for some of the most off-the-wall items for food,” Smith continued.
For instance, Lynyrd Skynyrd required only blue M&Ms in the dressing room. He also praised the efforts of Karon Campbell and her renowned catering, whom many artists have tried to poach as a traveling cook for their tours. Smith was proud of how well BRC staff takes care of the acts coming through.
Myers said the visitors coming in for the various events, artists and conferences have been invaluable to the local restaurants and hotels.
For the future of BRC, Smith said the city is in the process of developing a five-year plan to revamp the building. The master plan comes amid the facelift to the front fascia and atrium under the design of Dille Pollard Architecture. Massingham added the design and function of the Coliseum have always been evolving.
It was originally billed as a community center.
“Nobody really knew what that was,” Massingham joked.
Myers said the pool was a later addition not in the original design. Smith said the pool is one of the most consistent revenue generators in the building, bringing in $50,000 in 2024 so far.
The memorial wall was added in 1999 after the BRC was constructed and it has hosted a large number of veterans’ events.
Smith said one of the largest challenges to the BRC going forward will be the price of acts. He said the typical rate was $70,000-80,000 in years past but has since ballooned to $150,000 with many performers. Smith’s goal is to keep shows affordable for the average person despite increased operating costs.
Regardless of the challenges, Smith, Myers, Massingham, and Winters all showed optimism and confidence in the BRC’s future as much as its storied past 25 years.