Ask a longtime Atlantan about “The Omni” and they won’t picture a hotel — they’ll picture a rusted, egg-crate-roofed arena at 100 Techwood Drive that hosted Elvis, the Hawks, the Democratic National Convention, and an Olympic volleyball final, all before being blown up on live television in 1997.
This guide covers everything ‘The Omni in Atlanta’ can mean today: the original Omni Coliseum arena, its architecture and 25-year run of sports and concerts, the exact sequence of the July 26, 1997 implosion, and what actually occupies that downtown site now.
Quick Answer
“The Omni” most often refers to the Omni Coliseum, a 16,378-seat indoor arena that stood at 100 Techwood Drive in downtown Atlanta from October 14, 1972, until its implosion on July 26, 1997. It was home to the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and NHL’s Atlanta Flames, hosted the 1988 Democratic National Convention and 1996 Olympic volleyball, and anchored the mixed-use Omni Complex, later rebranded CNN Center. State Farm Arena now stands on the exact same footprint.
Is There Still an ‘Omni’ in Atlanta Today?
This is where a lot of confusion starts. The Omni Coliseum itself no longer exists — it was imploded in 1997 and replaced on the same footprint by an arena that opened in 1999 (first called Philips Arena, now State Farm Arena, home of the Atlanta Hawks). So if you’re asking whether ‘The Omni’ still stands as a sports venue, the answer is no.
The name does live on nearby, though, in a different form: the Omni Atlanta Hotel at Centennial Park, a full-service hotel connected to CNN Center and State Farm Arena in the same downtown district. It shares the Omni brand and is steps from where the coliseum once stood, but it’s a hotel property, not the old arena — the two are frequently mixed up in casual conversation and in search results.
What Was the Omni Coliseum?
The Omni Coliseum — also referred to as the Atlanta Omni Arena or simply ‘The Omni’ — was a multipurpose indoor arena that anchored downtown Atlanta’s entertainment district for a quarter century. It sat within the Omni Complex, a mixed-use development connected to the Georgia World Congress Center, later rebranded CNN Center after Ted Turner’s media company took over the adjoining hotel and retail space.
With a capacity of 16,378 for basketball and 15,278 for hockey, and a 377,000-square-foot footprint, the Omni was a genuine dual-sport facility long before that concept became standard in American arena design. The name ‘Omni’ derived from the Latin prefix meaning ‘all’ or ‘every,’ a nod to the venue’s ambition to host virtually every type of large-scale event — which, for 25 years, it did.
Architecture: The Space Frame Roof and Cor-Ten Steel
Designed by Atlanta firm Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates and built for $17 million, the Omni was a bold piece of structural engineering for its era. Its most distinctive feature was a space frame roof — an ortho-quad truss lattice of steel members that critics and admirers alike compared to an egg crate or a rusty waffle iron.
The exterior was clad in Cor-Ten weathering steel, intended to form a self-protecting rust patina that would seal the metal and require no painting. In Atlanta’s heat and humidity, that plan failed: the steel corroded through, eventually opening holes large enough for a person to climb through, while the settling foundation caused the roof to leak onto the court below. Those structural failures, combined with a shortage of modern luxury boxes, sealed the arena’s fate in the 1990s.
Sports Tenants: Hawks, Flames, and the Knights
From opening night in 1972, the Omni served as the shared home of two major professional franchises. The Atlanta Hawks (NBA) called the Omni home for essentially all of the arena’s 25-year lifespan, with one notable exception: during the 1984-85 season, the team played 12 of its 41 home games at the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, an arrangement financed by a local promoter to test the New Orleans market. The Atlanta Flames (NHL) were co-tenants from the franchise’s first season in 1972 until 1980, when the club was sold and relocated to become the Calgary Flames.
Hockey returned when the Atlanta Knights of the International Hockey League played there from 1992 to 1996, and the Atlanta Chiefs of the North American Soccer League staged indoor soccer at the venue from 1979 to 1981 — underscoring the arena’s genuinely all-purpose identity.
Landmark Events: From the Final Four to the Olympics
The Omni’s event resume went well beyond regular-season games. It staged the 1977 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, the 1978 NBA All-Star Game, and the 1993 NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four. During the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics, it hosted the indoor volleyball competition, one of the last major events held there before closure.
The arena’s most significant political moment came in 1988, when the Democratic National Convention convened inside its walls and nominated Michael Dukakis for president. Over the decades, it also hosted major professional wrestling cards (including multiple Starrcade events), championship boxing, and circus and family entertainment, cementing its reputation as Atlanta’s all-purpose gathering place.
Concert Legacy: Elvis, the Grateful Dead, and Decades of Shows
The Omni was Atlanta’s primary large-venue concert destination from 1972 to 1997, hosting well over 200 concerts across its run. Elvis Presley played sellout shows there between 1973 and 1976, and the Grateful Dead performed at the Omni roughly two dozen times between 1973 and 1995, making it one of the band’s most-visited stops on the entire touring circuit.
The roster of artists who played the Omni reads like a who’s-who of rock and pop history — Madonna brought both her Virgin Tour (1985) and Who’s That Girl World Tour (1987), and Michael Jackson, among many other headline acts, packed the arena during its final years, reinforcing its status as the South’s premier concert stop before Atlanta’s newer venues took over that role.
The July 26, 1997 Implosion, Explained
By the mid-1990s, the Omni’s corroded roof and outdated luxury-suite count made a full renovation more expensive than starting over. City and team officials chose to demolish it and build a new arena on the same site rather than repair it.
Demolition crews wired the structure with 2,844 explosive charges, detonated in a precise sequence at 6:43 a.m. on July 26, 1997. The arena collapsed into its own footprint in roughly 10.5 seconds, sending up a dust cloud visible across downtown; CNN Center next door reportedly shook from the blast. It remains one of the most-watched building implosions in Atlanta’s history, having been broadcast live and replayed for years afterward on local television.
What’s on the Site Today: State Farm Arena
A new arena rose on the Omni’s exact 100 Techwood Drive footprint, opening on September 18, 1999, as Philips Arena. It was renamed State Farm Arena in 2018 under a new naming-rights deal and remains the home of the Atlanta Hawks, hosting NBA games, concerts, and other large events downtown.
As a nod to the site’s history, the original Omni Coliseum’s scoreboard hangs in the pavilion of State Farm Arena — one of the few physical pieces of the old building preserved on site. For current schedules, tickets, seating charts, and parking information, the official State Farm Arena website is the best up-to-date source, since prices, gate times, and event calendars change throughout the year.
Omni Coliseum Atlanta FAQs
Is the Omni Hotel in Atlanta the same as the old Omni Coliseum?
No. The Omni Atlanta Hotel at Centennial Park is a hotel near CNN Center and State Farm Arena that shares the Omni brand name, but it is a separate property from the Omni Coliseum arena, which was demolished in 1997.
When did the Omni Coliseum open and close?
It opened on October 14, 1972, and was demolished by implosion on July 26, 1997, giving it a 25-year lifespan as downtown Atlanta’s main arena.
Why was the Omni Coliseum torn down?
Its Cor-Ten steel exterior corroded and leaked, its roof and foundation had structural problems, and it lacked the modern luxury suites that had become essential to arena revenue — making a full renovation less practical than building new.
How big was the Omni Coliseum?
It seated 16,378 for basketball and 15,278 for hockey inside a 377,000-square-foot building, built for $17 million and designed by the Atlanta firm Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates.
What replaced the Omni Coliseum?
Philips Arena opened on the same site in 1999 and was renamed State Farm Arena in 2018. It’s still the home of the Atlanta Hawks today.
Is anything from the original Omni Coliseum still around?
Yes — the Omni’s original scoreboard was preserved and now hangs in the pavilion of State Farm Arena as a tribute to the earlier arena.
How many times did the Grateful Dead play the Omni?
The Grateful Dead played the Omni roughly two dozen times between 1973 and 1995, making it one of the most frequent stops on their touring circuit.
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