Norfolk Scope

Norfolk Scope is a multipurpose culture, entertainment, convention and sports arena at the northern perimeter of downtown Norfolk, Virginia, designed by Italian architect/engineer Pier Luigi Nervi in conjunction with the (now defunct) local firm of Williams and Tazewell. Nervi's design for the reinforced concrete dome evolved from his much smaller Palazzetto dello Sport, which was built in the 1950s for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.

Construction on Scope began in June 1968 and was completed in 1971 at a cost of $35 million USD. Federal funds covered $23 million of the cost, and when it opened formally on November 12, 1971, the structure was the second-largest public complex in Virginia, behind only the Pentagon.