The Salem Civic Center, the hub of the James E. Taliaferro Sports and Entertainment Complex, became a part of Salem’s landscape October 1967. For more than 50 years, the 7,000 seat facility has welcomed a who’s who of entertainment’s brightest stars to its stage including the likes of Johnny Cash, Kenny Chesney, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Def Leppard and James Brown.
The Civic Center currently is the home of the ODAC men's and women's basketball championship, and for a number of years was the home to the NCAA Division III men’s basketball Final Four, but its round ball roots go all the way back to the old American Basketball Association when Dr. J, Julius Erving, played in the arena as a member of the Virginia Squires.
This facility is also a true “civic” center with the city’s Rotary, Lions and Kiwanis clubs inhabiting one of the building’s numerous meeting rooms on a weekly basis. The venue’s Community Room hosts everything from awards banquets to receptions with Salem Catering, an in-house food provider, offering up complete catering services for your every need. Salem Catering can handle everything from a business breakfast meeting to a formal banquet for 1500 of your closest friends. Call today and get the details of how Salem Catering can make your next event stress free from start to finish.
The Taliaferro Complex is one of the more versatile Entertainment and Sports venues in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Located on 65 acres of land, the complex is home to not only the Salem Civic Center, but also Salem Football Stadium and Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium. Salem Football Stadium is a 7,157 seat municipal stadium that opened for business in August of 1985 after a rapid construction process. The stadium was actually completed just eight months after its approval was granted and a mere five months after grading on the property began. The city used a bond to pay for the $2.2 million facility that was constructed primarily for the city’s successful high school football program that has won eight Virginia High School League State Championships since 1996.
Salem Stadium was the home of the NCAA Division III Football Championship for 25 years and is now home to the CIAA football championship. The stadium is set up to accommodate both players and fans, including field lights, an expanded press box, synthetic Field Turf and handrails throughout the bleachers.
The field has hosted a number of overflow sports crowds, but the biggest turnout occurred on October 27, 2008 when republican vice-presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin attracted a crowd of more than 16,000 to a political rally.
Right next door to the football facility you’ll find the Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium. This state of the art minor league baseball facility was constructed in 1995 and seats 6,300 fans. It is currently the home of the Boston Red Sox Class A farm team, the Salem Red Sox.
One of the Complex’s most important features is its parking. There are more than 4000 free parking spots at the Taliaferro Complex, and this not only gives patrons easy access to shows, but it also provides tremendous flexibility for outside events.