CITY BUYS LAND FOR ARENA BUILDING AND FAIRGROUNDS

Fisticuffs took place during opening night events at the A.C. Brase Arena Building.

A crowd of some 1,100 people attended the second Golden Gloves boxing tournament Jan. 22, 1940. Boxers from Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois competed in the event, which was sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Jaycees.

It was the first event held in the building and a catalyst for the city's purchase of the park area.

The boxing tournament continued for two weeks, ending with 16 champions in eight classes advancing to the St. Louis Golden Gloves tourney. Only one regional fighter advanced to the finals of that tournament, where he was later eliminated on points.

The boxing tournament represented the recreational use for which the facility was originally planned. Cape Girardeau voters overwhelmingly approved a bond issue to finance the construction of the public center and surrounding Arena Park in January 1937.

Within a month, nearly 15 acres were purchased at a cost of $3,350. In April of that year, another 47 1/2 acres were purchased from residents and businesses in the same area adjacent to Highway 61 and west of the city.

Work Projects Administration workers began construction on April 19, 1937. Funding for the bonds was shored by a 5-cent tax increase approved by voters on July 5, 1938.

Four months after the Jaycees held their boxing tournament in the A.C. Brase Arena Building. The building and park were formally dedicated on May 14, 1940. On that date, the building was also used for a free, public meeting.

Gen. Evangeline Booth of the Salvation Army addressed a crowd of 1,500 during the meeting. Booth, daughter of the founder of the religious organization, urged listeners to "do your part to bring God to this troubled world. Only a feeling of God can bring the peace the world so desires."

A story in the Southeast Missourian regarding Booth's visit said the building "proved beyond question that it will adequately serve the public for which it was intended."

In the fall of 1940, Arena Park hosted the first fair held in the city in 11 years. The fair, held Sept. 24-29, was the first general public use of the park.

Formerly, the fair had been held on Gordonville Road west of the city from 1858 through the turn of the century. In 1900, the fair was moved to Fairground Park, now Capaha Park, where it remained until 1929, when economic hardships closed the fair.

The fair resumed in 1940 to coincide with the opening of the 55-acre Arena Park.