History:

Salem Town Council first recognized the need for a building of its type in 1955, and seven years later citizens were encouraging city leaders to pursue the construction of an arena-type structure in Salem. In 1963 council bought the current tract of land where the Civic center sits for about $290,000 from the Lutheran Children's Home. At about this same time Roanoke City officials were debating constructing a stadium. Salem officials invited the City of Roanoke to join them in erecting a community building that could be shared and operated jointly. However, Roanoke City rejected the offer for various reasons.

Salem went ahead with plans to construct a smaller center, but shortly thereafter Roanoke County became interested in providing Salem financial support. This made it possible to enlarge the civic center to the full-size arena it is today. The $2.5 million civic center operated for a number of years as the Salem-Roanoke Valley Civic Center before the City assumed sole proprietorship in 1983.