When Did Elvis Play at Roberts Stadium in Evansville?

Though it was torn down over a decade ago, the legacy of Roberts Municipal Stadium in Evansville, Indiana lives on. The arena was built way back in 1956 and, for the majority of music fans in southern Indiana and western Kentucky, the stadium holds very special memories.

Many of us saw our first concerts there. I remember mine like it was yesterday.

'Yesterday' for me was 1978 when Shaun Cassidy rolled into Roberts Stadium. It was the very first concert I ever attended and my aunt Roxie took me. We had killer seats too. We were on the floor in Row J. Yes, we were just ten rows away from the stage when Shaun Cassidy, the "Hardy Boy" who had established himself as one of the biggest pop stars in the country, performed his biggest hits- like "Hey Deannie," "Da Doo Ron Ron," "Do You Believe in Magic?" and "That's Rock 'N' Roll."

Get our free mobile app

During its lifetime, Roberts Municipal Stadium hosted some of the biggest names in music. Among them- Taylor Swift, Garth Brooks, Bon Jovi, Prince, and Kenny Chesney, who performed the final concert in the stadium's history on August 11th, 2011. I was there for that one too.

But did you know that music icon Elvis Presley played Roberts Stadium not once, but twice? The King's first appearance was on June 13th, 1972. He returned four years later- on October 24th, 1976.

Believe it or not, there's actually some rare footage from that concert on YouTube. Admittedly, the footage isn't great, but it's still a fun glimpse at a piece of Roberts Stadium concert history.

The YouTube user who shared the video is Fran Ridge. Apparently the footage was pulled from archived 8mm film and then dubbed over for better sound quality.

Again, I realize the footage isn't perfect and it's almost impossible to even see Elvis. However, one of the big takeaways from it is that crowd! That Elvis Presley concert in 1976 apparently set an attendance record at Roberts Stadium. A crowd of 13,500 fans were there to see the King of Rock 'N' Roll in Evansville.

Roberts Stadium, despite its storied 55-year history, was demolished in January of 2013. The city built the Ford Center downtown and today that is the epicenter for concerts and special events.

However, anyone who ever saw a concert at Roberts can likely still hear and feel the music, the memories and the magic. If you saw Elvis there, you likely still feel the history.