Until John Paul Jones Arena opened in 2006, the Richmond Coliseum was the largest sports arena in Virginia. The Virginia Commonwealth University Rams men's basketball team played in the arena until the 7,500-seat Siegel Center opened on the VCU campus in 1999.

Elvis Presley performed a concert at the coliseum on April 10, 1972, with (mostly backstage) footage being used in the film Elvis on Tour which documented Presley's spring tour of that year.

The Richmond Coliseum was the former part-time home of the Virginia Squires of the American Basketball Association. The Squires played there in addition to Roanoke Civic Center, Norfolk Scope and Hampton Coliseum (all within the Commonwealth of Virginia) from 1970 until just before the ABA–NBA merger in 1976. The Coliseum also hosted the Southern Conference men's basketball tournaments in 1973 and 1974.

The Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament was held there in 1988. The Colonial Athletic Association men's (NCAA) collegiate basketball tournament has been contested at the Richmond Coliseum since 1990. On March 1, 2006, a deal was signed to keep the tournament in Richmond until 2012. The Coliseum served as the primary home for the MEAC Men's Basketball Tournament between 1998 and 2005, with some games played at the Arthur Ashe Athletic Center.

In 1994, the Coliseum hosted the Women's NCAA Division I Basketball Championship. Charlotte Smith of the University of North Carolina sank a buzzer-beating three-pointer to defeat Louisiana Tech, 60–59, in the final. The Richmond Coliseum also held the men's NCAA Tournament first and second rounds in 1990 and 1996.

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