This center, which took sixteen years to bring to completion, was designed to house all kinds of indoor entertainment, including sports and conventions. It began with the concrete and cast-stone auditorium and coliseum that are linked by an underground exhibition hall beneath the plaza separating the two buildings. The exteriors of the buildings are primarily blank walls with minimal articulation. In 2007 a special events center was added to the complex for the use of trade shows and conventions. The several additions have given more architectural interest to this colossus that marks a major entrance into Roanoke from I-581.