On April 27, 1943, the Texas Legislature authorized Texas Tech (then known as Texas Technological College) to give a 5-acre tract of land to the City of Lubbock for the purpose of building a municipal auditorium. In 1945, the city approved the issuance of $1.75 million in bonds to construct the Auditorium-Coliseum.

Construction on the complex began in 1954 and the two facilities opened to the public in 1956.

When the United Spirit Arena opened in 1999, the coliseum had to compete with Texas Tech for events. Following the suspension of the Cotton Kings in 2007 and Renegades in 2007, the coliseum lacked a permanent tenant.

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