The arena first opened on November 22, 2002, with the season opener of the South Carolina women's basketball team. A near sell-out crowd of 17,712 fans saw the 72–58
Gamecocks victory over in-state rival
Clemson, with a $1 admission charge, at that time commonly used by the women's basketball team to promote major games. The official grand opening took place December 2, 2002. The men's basketball team defeated
Temple 66–47. On January 26, 2010 South Carolina defeated #1 ranked and undefeated
Kentucky 68–62 in the arena, one of the biggest wins in South Carolina history. On January 18, 2021, as part of the university's observance of
Martin Luther King Day, the university dedicated a statue of Gamecocks great and
2020 WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson near the arena's main entrance. Aside from Gamecock basketball, the Colonial Life Arena also hosts the South Carolina
High School Basketball Championships each year. The facility is built to also host
ice hockey games, and was intended to be the new home of the
ECHL's
Columbia Inferno. However, due to legal issues with the funding for the facility, the Inferno never played there. The franchise suspended operations in 2008, but after plans for a new arena in neighboring
Lexington County fell through, the franchise was finally canceled in 2014. However, annual games pitting the
Carolina Hurricanes alumni against
Tampa Bay Lightning alumni have been played here. The Colonial Life Arena was ranked 22nd in the world in ticket sales in 2003. It was also ranked the #1 arena in
the Carolinas and was the #2 rated university arena in the world in 2005, based on ticket sales for touring shows. It was managed by Spectra (formerly Global Spectrum), the facilities management subsidiary of
Comcast Spectacor. The NBA's
Philadelphia 76ers, then owned by Comcast Spectacor, played an exhibition game in the venue in October 2005. In 2021, Spectra was acquired by the
Oak View Group and renamed
OVG360. OVG360 remains the arena's manager to this day. In 2007, it was home to the
Columbia Stingers of the
National Indoor Football League. The arena has hosted the Charlotte Bobcats and New York Knicks in the past. Originally, the venue, like all Comcast-Spectator managed facilities, had its own ticketing policy, and therefore concerts were not controlled by the major ticketing industry firms. Ticketing was provided by
New Era Tickets, and tickets could be purchased through the Arena's website. Ticketing for events at the arena is now provided through
Ticketmaster. ==See also==