Freedom Hall celebrates 50 years

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Johnson City’s Independence Day celebration wouldn’t be possible without the host venue, Freedom Hall Civic Center.

Freedom Hall has been a staple of the Tri-Cities for decades. It’s located along Pactolas Road and nestled between the campuses of Science Hill High School and Liberty Bell Middle School.

“50 years of great concerts, all sorts of meetings, and everything for Freedom Hall,” said General Manager Mark Stone. “It has become over the years the staple concert venue for the area. The golden age of concerts during the 80s and 90s, even the 70s too. You’ve seen Elvis, you’ve seen Elton John, you’ve seen Metallica. Freedom Hall has served as host to all sorts of artists and concerts throughout the region.”

The City of Johnson City built the entertainment venue and opened it to the public with Bob Hope on July 5th, 1974.

“The city has a partnership with the community and that’s what Freedom Hall is truly about,” Stone said. “We enjoy basketball, we enjoy all of these events and they bring a lot of economic support to the community.”

There’s a new banner hanging to commemorate the milestone with nods to the concert hall’s distant and recent past.

“We tried to keep the actual picture that this band would be [when they performed at Freedom Hall],” said Gina Lynch with Great White Graphics. “The one of Elvis is actually when he was in Johnson City.”

Lynch and her husband Lee helped design the banner. The Johnson City natives were in the crowd for many of the concerts used in the design.

“I can go through probably more than half of these concerts right here…and just a few of the main acts that’s been through,” Lee said. “It’s really neat to be a part of a project like this right here to celebrate 50 years.”

Freedom Hall has played home to more than just good music. It hosts conventions, sporting events, and ETSU basketball games.

“It’s amazing to think about the people that have walked these hallways and have performed here. We actually keep track of everybody. Bob Hope obviously opened the venue back in 1974. Ike and Tina Turner performed that very same year,” said Box Office Manager Debra Deegan. “Support our local events to continue for another 50 years.”

As music artists aim to fill larger venues, leaders are working to keep more artists on the books.

“For us, it’s a little bit more difficult because we want to keep the tickets affordable prices and stuff like that,” Deegan said. “So, for some of those big names, we may not be able to have them here but we’re trying our best to get those that are moving up the ranks so to speak.”

Other events and conventions are also in the works which are set to be announced soon.

Freedom Hall is selling t-shirts to commemorate its 50th anniversary. They also have hats for sale. You can purchase them on-site or they’ll be available online soon.

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