International Amphitheatre

The International Amphitheatre was an indoor arena located in Chicago, Illinois, that opened in 1934 and was demolished in 1999. It was located on the west side of Halsted Street, at 42nd Street, on the city's south side, in the Canaryville neighborhood, adjacent to the Union Stock Yards.

The venue opened on November 30, 1934. It had been built for $1.5 million by the Stock Yard company and was principally built to host the International Livestock Exhibition. The arena replaced Dexter Park, a horse-racing track that had stood on the site for over 50 years until its destruction by fire on April 18, 1934. The completion of the Amphitheatre ushered in an era where Chicago reigned as a convention capital. In an era before air conditioning and space for the press and broadcast media were commonplace, the International Amphitheatre was among the first arenas to be equipped with these innovations.

The Stock Yards closed in 1971, but the Amphitheatre remained open, hosting rock concerts, college basketball and IHSA playoff games, circuses, religious gatherings, and other events.^{[citation needed]} The shift of many conventions and trade shows to the more modern and more conveniently located lakefront McCormick Place convention center, during the 1960s and 1970s, began the International Amphitheatre's decline, which continued with the opening of other convention and concert venues in the suburbs drawing more events away. By the 1980s, the venue was struggling due to competition from large facilities such as the Chicago Stadium, Rosemont Horizon, Arie Crown Theater, Alpine Valley Music Theatre, Holiday Star Theatre, UIC Pavilion, and the renovated Chicago Theatre.

In the late 1970s, developer Harry Chaddick proposed replacing the arena with a large shopping center, but these plans were killed after Mayor Michael Bilandic revoked his support for the project after residents and politicians of the Canaryville and Bridgeport neighborhoods complained that such a development would attract both intense vehicular traffic and draw over the residents from nearby Chicago Housing Authority projects.

After an automobile swap show in March 1983, the venue closed its doors. This was widely seen as an end for the venue. It was sold to new ownership for a mere $250,000 and sat dormant for three years. During plans were floated to convert the venue into a sound stage. However, on November 28, 1987, the International Amphitheatre reopened with a game by the Loyola Ramblers college basketball team, who became tenants of the reopened Amphitheatre. Some repairs and improvements had been made to the facility. A greater $5 million renovation was planned at the time of its reopening, and it was intended that Loyola basketball would remain tenants of the venue for at least five years. However, for their 1989 season, Loyola had moved to the Rosemont Horizon after the Amphitheatre proved to be an unsatisfactory home venue to the team. The team had faced attendance as low as 500 spectators while playing at the facility.

The sprawling venue was difficult to maintain and struggled to attract enough large events to pay for its own upkeep. It was eventually sold to promoters Cardenas & Fernandez and then the City of Chicago, which had no more success at attracting events than its previous owner. In August 1999, demolition of the International Amphitheatre began. An Aramark Uniform Services plant is located on the site once occupied by the Amphitheatre. Part of the former convention hall extension still remains standing and used by Lakeshore Beverage.

The original primary purpose of the arena was to host the North American International Livestock Exposition. This event would be held at the arena until several years after the Union Stock Yards closed in July 1971, when it left for Louisville, Kentucky.

The Amphitheatre hosted several national American presidential nominating conventions, with an overall record of 1-4: