Since 1952, the Memorial Coliseum has been the capital of Fort Wayne sports, and now it's become a showcase of that history. A kiosk displaying the Fort Wayne Sports Corporation's Sports Heritage Project was installed in the coliseum lobby on Friday.

Co-sponsored by The News-Sentinel and funded by a donation from the Waterfield Foundation, the project is a DVD with 33 vignettes reflecting the city's sports history that can be played on the interactive kiosk. Viewers can choose which vignette to watch.

The project was unveiled during a January banquet with a kiosk at the Grand Wayne Convention Center. Northrop High School graduate and Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge was the keynote speaker at the banquet and offered to pay for a kiosk at the coliseum.

“It's going to be a wonderful opportunity for the million-plus people who go through this lobby,” Memorial Coliseum General Manager Randy Brown said. “People don't realize some of the things that have happened in Fort Wayne sports like the NBA being formed here. There are dozens of stories just like that.”

The project cost $65,000, and the videos were produced using material from WANE and WPTA, private footage, and pictures from books, Web sites and The News-Sentinel's archives.

The profiles include:

♦Individuals such as Rod Woodson, Johnny Bright, Wedge, Eugene Parker, Everett Scott and past Olympians

♦Teams like the Fort Wayne Komets, Pistons, Daisies and Wizards

♦Organizations such as Wildcat Baseball, the Mad Anthonys, Lifetime Sports Academy and run, jane, run

♦Key events such as the birth of the NBA, the first night baseball game, the start of the LPGA Tournament and the 1927 New York Yankees exhibition game

“I think people will really enjoy it when they see it,” Sports Corp. president Art Saltsberg said. “The coliseum is a logical place for one.”

Saltsberg said he hopes someday to be able to find the funding to put a kiosk at Fort Wayne International Airport. The Allen County Public Library has also been suggested as a site.