📍 Fort Wayne, Indiana
🏒 Home of Fort Wayne Komets

The oldest venue in the entire ECHL, Allen County War Memorial Coliseum opened in 1952 and has been the longtime sports hub of northeastern Indiana. It’s a legendary barn that’s seen some of the most exciting moments in Hoosier State hockey, slowly becoming somewhat of a mecca for minor league fans. Although the arena has hosted a litany of franchises across a variety of sports over the last 75 years, only one team – the Fort Wayne Komets – has ever called the Coliseum ice home.

The War Memorial Coliseum began life as the home of both the Komets and the NBA’s Fort Wayne Pistons, who would move to Detroit after just five years in the building. Pro basketball returned in 2007 in the form of the G-League’s Mad Ants, a team that last far longer in Fort Wayne but which also ultimately left in 2023. The venue has also been a host of Purdue Fort Wayne college basketball, in addition to a slew of indoor soccer and indoor football teams.

Thus, the Komets have been the only constant on the Fort Wayne sports landscape over the last eight decades. Their existence is owed to Ernie Berg, their original owner and general manager, who helped bring an International Hockey League expansion team to town in the fall of ’52. Berg also coined the nickname “Komets” in an effort to evoke ideals relating to speed and excitement. And he chose the awkward spelling in honor of his wife, who went by Kay.

In 1990, the team was moved to Albany, New York but was replaced almost immediately thanks to the inter-league relocation of the Flint Spirits. Nine years later, the new franchise shifted to the United Hockey League, which would later change its name and put the Komets back in the International Hockey League. The Komets then spent two seasons in the Central Hockey League before landing in the ECHL in 2012.

Besides the NHL’s Original Six and AHL’s Hershey Bears, the combination of the two Komets franchises have the distinction of being the longest-tenured pro hockey team to remain in the same city and maintain the same nickname.

At present, the Coliseum seats more than 10,000 for hockey, far more than upon its initial completion. Thanks to many expansions, including the addition of an attached Exposition Center in 1989 and the raising of the roof by 41 feet during a 2002 renovation, the home of the Komets has steadily increased in both size and stature in the hockey world.

The building, which towers over the flat Indiana landscape, features a whopping six levels, including nosebleed balconies and exclusive clubs on the East and West concourses. Although much of the venue has been modernized and is contemporary in design, some of the original art deco elements of the arena still stand, primarily near old entrances, similar to the historic hockey arena used by the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch.

The barn is also notable for a more sports-relevant oddity: the team benches are located across the ice from one another instead of directly adjacent, echoing a longstanding college hockey practice that only makes Fort Wayne stand out in professional circuits.

While Fort Wayne isn’t exactly known as a foodie paradise, the Coliseum maintains some remarkably fresh and creative gameday concessions and social spots. There’s an exclusive rooftop lounge for fans who are 21+; the Country Heritage Winery has a corner booth with a wide selection of wine slushies; high-end burgers are available at the Appleseed Burger Co., named such after local legend Johnny Appleseed who’s buried steps away; Midwest-based Velvet Ice Cream has an outpost; root beer floats are served up just about everywhere; and the remaining basic food stands are aptly-named, like Wok This Wayne.

Between their long history and impressive minor league digs, Komets fans are unsurprisingly some of the best in the league. They pack the house all throughout the year, in good times and in bad, waving lots of flags and participating in chants to will their boys to victory. From the moment the ice lights up green and “Welcome to the Jungle” blasts through the speakers, to the sound of the goal horn and all the way until the final whistle, the passion never stops.

Since their inception, the Komets have rained success down upon Fort Wayne. Between both of the city’s teams, 10 league championships have been captured, including 7 Turner Cups (IHL), 1 Colonial Cup (UHL), 1 President’s Cup (CHL) and 1 Kelly Cup (ECHL). The Komets have also clinched 12 regular season titles.

Despite being affiliated with a never-ending rotation of NHL parents, from the Avalanche to the Golden Knights to the Oilers, fan loyalty – and team success – has hardly been affected here at this colossal and historic barn in fantastic Fort Wayne.