COW PALACE

The 'Cow Palace' (originally known as the 'California State Livestock Pavilion') is an indoor arena in Daly City, California that borders neighboring San Francisco.

Contents

History

Rodeos and Livestock Expositions

Behind the Name

During World War II

Band Concerts

Location

External links

History

Completed in 1941,[1] it hosted the San Francisco Warriors of the NBA from 1962 to 1964 and again from 1966 to 1971. It also hosted the San Jose Sharks of the NHL from 1991 to 1993 until the San Jose Arena was built. During the 1960s and 1970s the SF Examiner Games, a world-class indoor track & field meet, was held annually at the Cow Palace. Additionally it hosted the Bay Bombers of the Roller Derby; the Derby's world championship playoffs were held at the Cow Palace every fall beginning from 1959 through 1973, when the organization was disbanded. The arena seats 11,089 for ice hockey and 12,953 for basketball. It has also been the home of the annual Grand National Rodeo, Horse & Stock Show since 1941 (except for a break from 1942 to 1945 due to World War II). The venue hosted the 1960 men's NCAA basketball Final Four and the 1967 NBA All-Star Game. It hosted four WCW SuperBrawl shows between 1997 and 2000 and recently it was the site of WWE No Way Out, in 2004.

Rodeos and Livestock Expositions

The Cow Palace is officially the 1-A District Agricultural Association, a State agency of the California Department of Food and Agriculture's Division of Fairs and Expositions. It has extensive stable and barn facilities for animal events, which are used for the annual Grand National Rodeo and occasionally for other events.

Behind the Name

The idea for the arena was originally conceived as the result of the popularity of the livestock pavilion at the 1915 Pan-Pacific Exposition. It was another decade before steps were taken to finance the building, and legislative delays and the onset of the Great Depression meant that the building was not completed until 1941. One story for how the current name came about tells of a newspaper editorial that wondered aloud "Why, when people are starving, should money be spent on a "palace for cows?" Thus, the 'Cow Palace' was born. Other sources say that an advertisement company actually coined the name the "Cow Palace" after a man named Willard S. Anderson who said, at the time of the building's construction, that "they are just building a palace for cows."

During World War II

The arena opened in April, 1941. During World War II, though, the arena was used for processing soldiers bound for the Pacific Theater. In the following years, it hosted innumerable hockey and basketball games, wrestling and boxing matches, concerts, and political events, most notably the 1956 and 1964 Republican National Conventions. The arena is still used for the Grand National Rodeo today and other events.

Band Concerts

Rock music bands that have held concerts at the Cow Palace include:
The Beatles, Wings, The Doors, The Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Pink Floyd, Scorpions, Donovan, Kiss, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Mötley Crüe, Elvis Presley, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Rolling Stones, U2, Metallica, Rush, Primus, The 1998 and 1999 Family Values Tour, Journey, Van Halen and The Who. A majority of the songs on the album Live Rust and the concert film Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Young & Crazy Horse was recorded during a concert at the Cow Palace on October 22, 1978. Fleetwood Mac filmed both of their 12th and 13th December 1997 concerts at the Palace for a DVD, later released in 1998. The Allman Brothers Band played there on New Year's Eve, 1973 with Grateful Dead members sitting in. The Grateful Dead also held a solo concert on New Year's Eve 1976 and released a live CD, titled "Live at the Cow Palace: New Year's Eve 1976.

Location

The Cow Palace has a Daly City address, and is physically mostly in Daly City, and it is both the Daly City Police Department and San Francisco Police Department which patrol its grounds during events.

External links

★ San Francisco Cow Palace website

★ Grand National Rodeo, Horse & Stock Show website