The Big E Coliseum was built in 1926. The longtime home of the Springfield Indians professional hockey team in the American Hockey League, it was a part time home to the New England Whalers ice hockey team while the team was in the World Hockey Association, as well as briefly being the venue for the Hartford Whalers when the team joined the National Hockey League, until the repair of the Hartford Civic Center in January, 1980. In the 1940s through to the building of the Springfield Civic Center in 1972, the Coliseum frequently hosted local showings of the Ice Capades and the Ice Follies.