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Veterans Memorial Coliseum has received a face-lift intended to help the Rose Quarter venue compete for events.

The $5 million, two-year project focused on deferred maintenance needs, Mayor Ted Wheeler said during an event Friday to tout the updates.

The project is a 鈥減relude to further investment鈥� and will help Portland compete for a future NBA All-Star Game, said Amanda Mann, general manager of the Rose Quarter.

It also comes ahead of the PK80-Phil Knight Invitational, a college basketball tournament featuring 16 teams, including Duke, North Carolina, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio State, Gonzaga, Oregon, Portland State and the University of Portland, to the coliseum and the Moda Center on Nov. 23-26.

The project included:

• renovating the existing center video board and installing new HD video replay screens;
• installing new programmable LED lights in the arena;
• renovating concessions areas for more food and beverage options, and adding a new point-of-sale system for faster transactions;
• fully replacing the roof of the coliseum, pagoda and entry canopy; and
• restoring glulam columns in the lobby to reveal their wood finish.

R&H Construction served as the general contractor for the project.

The coliseum now is used for Portland Winterhawks hockey games and concerts. Wheeler said the venue hosted 430,000 visitors last year and turned an operating profit despite its reputation as a 鈥渨hite elephant.鈥�

鈥淚t is in the black and has been for three years,鈥� he said.

The coliseum has been the subject of considerable debate. The building is owned by the city, and has attracted some attention from developers. Preservationists fought back, forming the Friends of Memorial Coliseum and enlisting the National Trust for Historic Preservation in a campaign to save the building.

The City Council in 2015 commissioned from Bora Architects a report that examined various renovation and redevelopment scenarios without offering a recommended path. More recently, a group of community leaders has set forth a framework plan they call Albina Vision. The plan would reintroduce a street grid and housing into the Rose Quarter, while leaving the coliseum and Moda Center in place.

Wheeler said the city is still a long ways away from making any decisions on the Rose Quarter’s future.

鈥淲e’re way premature to say we’ve settled on any concept or idea around this development site,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here’s a lot of pre-work that still needs to happen.鈥�

Veterans Memorial Coliseum was completed in 1960 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The building was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and is regarded as a strong example of International Style architecture. Four concrete pillars hold up the exterior glass box, with a bowl in the center. The design offers wide views from the building.

The coliseum has a notable place in Portland history. Over the years, it has hosted acts including the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Elvis Presley. It was also home to the Portland Trail Blazers until 1995, when the basketball team moved next door to what is now the Moda Center. Barack Obama, the Dalai Lama and other significant public figures have spoken at the coliseum.

Wheeler said his first event at the coliseum came during Alice Cooper’s 鈥淏illion Dollar Babies鈥� tour. According to the singer’s website, Cooper played at Veterans Memorial Coliseum on May 24, 1973. Among the songs Cooper performed? 鈥淓lected.鈥�