Memory Lane

I was reflecting on Marc's post at Uncommon Sense about Van Halen vis-a-vis the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and I began to feel a little nostalgic. I was thinking about the venue where I saw Van Halen perform twice, The Hollywood Sportatorium. Some dubbed the venue 'The Hollyweed Snortatorium" because of all of the drugs that must have been consumed there during the 70's and 80's.

The Sportatorium was located on Hollywood Blvd. in western Broward County. That was considered the boondocks for someone coming from SW Miami-Dade County, like me. I was probably 13 or 14 years old when I attended my first concert at the venue. For me it was a new experience, going to a rock concert with my older sister and her friends. Beer, cigarettes, Rock music: we were being rebellious teenagers.

From a practical standpoint going to see a band at the Sportatorium sucked. There was one two-lane highway in and out. The Sportatorium itself was on the other side of a canal from the highway which meant you had to enter the parking lot (a weed and gravel covered field) by going over one of the two or three bridges that allowed access. The problem was when everyone was trying to get out you'd have a tremendous bottleneck and you could easily sit in your car for a couple of hours. A Sportatorium veteran would never park in the lot but instead on the edge of the highway even if you had to walk a couple of miles. You'd save time on your way out.

Anyway my memories of the Sportatorium are good ones. It's kind of sad to look at this picture of the rinky dink auditorium taken on a cloudy day because on concert night it was a place where you expected and often were treated to musical magic.