THE BALLOON MAN

Does it measure up?

City eyes state, size of coliseum

Stephen Spillman / Amarillo Globe-News - Cal Farley Coliseum is prepared for Circus Gatti at the Civic Center. Some shows, such as "Star Wars: In Concert" and "Walking With Dinosaurs," are too big for the coliseum space.
February 20, 2011By KAREN SMITH WELCH Amarillo's leaders didn't envision dinosaurs roaming the coliseum when they launched construction of the Amarillo Civic Center in the late 1960s.
Forty-three years later, the place itself is something of a dinosaur, too small to squeeze in animatronic T-rexes.
Inside the cramped confines of Cal Farley Coliseum, the height from the floor to structural rigging steel at the ceiling is 38 feet, or slightly more than half as tall as the giant video screen at Cowboys Stadium.
That wasn't high enough to accommodate the $20 million "Walking With Dinosaurs" arena show, Civic Center Manager Sherman Bass said. He'd hoped to bring to Amarillo the spectacle based on the award-winning BBC series. It features life-sized versions of 20 prehistoric beasts, which require plenty of head room to strut their stuff on arena floors.
The inability to house the landmark show is one example of the cost of the coliseum's considerable limits, officials said.
read more at:http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2011-02-20/does-it-measure