Kiel Auditorium opened on April 14, 1934, in downtown St. Louis as the Municipal Auditorium, a $6 million civic hall designed by the architecture firm LaBeaume & Klein. It was renamed in 1943 to honor former St. Louis mayor Henry Kiel, and for nearly six decades it stood as one of the city’s primary gathering spaces for sports, music, and civic events.
The building’s most distinctive feature was its dual design: the Kiel Auditorium arena sat back-to-back with the attached Kiel Opera House, allowing two separate events to run simultaneously under one roof. The arena hosted the St. Louis Hawks of the NBA and the Saint Louis University Billikens before closing in 1991 and being torn down the following year.
- Atlanta Hawks played here 1955–1968. See every Hawks arena →
Stats at a Glance
- Location: St. Louis, Missouri
- Teams: St. Louis Hawks (NBA), Saint Louis Billikens (NCAA)
- Opened: April 14, 1934
- Closed/Demolished: Closed April 27, 1991; demolished 1992
- Capacity: About 9,300
- Notable fact: Hosted the NBA All-Star Game in 1958, 1962, and 1965
Home of the Hawks
From 1955 to 1968, Kiel Auditorium served as the home court of the St. Louis Hawks, who had relocated from Milwaukee. During that stretch the arena welcomed three NBA All-Star Games, and the Hawks built one of the league’s winningest rosters of the era before the franchise moved on to Atlanta in 1968. The Saint Louis Billikens basketball program also called the auditorium home across two long stretches, from 1945 to 1968 and again from 1973 until the building’s 1991 closing.
Beyond Basketball
Kiel Auditorium’s calendar stretched well past sports. The Grateful Dead played the venue seven times between 1969 and 1982, the Miss Universe pageant was held there in 1983, and the building hosted conventions as large as the second international Alcoholics Anonymous conference in 1955. WCW even staged its Starrcade wrestling event there in 1990, just months before the arena shut its doors for good.
Explore more: Explore more historic stadiums and arenas.
A see-through purse that looks like a purse. Works for most stadium, arena and concert bag policies.
Bleachers for three hours, but with back support. Folds flat and clips to the bench.
For upper-deck seats. Watch line play at the stadium, or the far side of the park from the top of a lift hill.
Kiel Auditorium FAQs
When did Kiel Auditorium close and get demolished?
Kiel Auditorium closed on April 27, 1991, and was demolished in 1992, having opened on April 14, 1934.
What teams played at Kiel Auditorium?
The arena was home to the NBA’s St. Louis Hawks from 1955 to 1968 and the Saint Louis Billikens basketball team across two stretches, 1945–1968 and 1973–1991.
What replaced Kiel Auditorium?
The Enterprise Center, originally opened as the Kiel Center, now occupies the site where Kiel Auditorium once stood.
Get More from Kiel Auditorium
Log the coasters, stadiums, and venues you’ve experienced, rate Kiel Auditorium, and see what your friends thought. Get the ThrillZing app.
Photo: Pub. by Chas. M. Monroe Co. “Tichnor Quality Views,” Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. Made Only by Tichnor Bros., Inc., Boston, Mass. / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.