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GREENSBORO — The old place still looks classy. Credit the fact that it’s had more face-lifts than Joan Rivers.

A nip here, a tuck there and a couple of major procedures over the years have kept it functioning at a high level, as it did during the first- and second-round games of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Amid all the numbers coming out of the two days of competition — final scores, shooting percentages, assist-to-turnover ratios — this one stands out:

The host facility, the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, will turn 50 this year.

And that’s reason to celebrate, says Matt Brown, the managing director.

“I think this building has served as such an important element for our community,” Brown said Friday. “We want people to reflect on what it’s meant (here). ... People should take great pride in (it).”

Plans for the celebration have not been finalized, but probably will begin around Oct. 29, the 50th anniversary of the first event at the coliseum, a Holiday on Ice show.

Over the half-century since then, the city-owned coliseum complex has become one of the most versatile sports, entertainment and convention venues in the Southeast.

It has attracted more than 50 million visitors to events ranging from flea markets to a Final Four in 1974.

It has attracted some of the biggest names in entertainment (Elvis Presley), politics (Richard Nixon) and sports (Michael Jordan).

It has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact.

The most recent study of that type, conducted in 1996-97, put the facility’s financial boost to Guilford County that year at more than $48 million.

The study said the complex raised income in the county by $13.5 million, increased employment by 905 full-time jobs and generated $500,000 in sales-tax revenues.

The numbers probably haven’t changed significantly in the past dozen years, said Stephen Layson, an associate professor of economics at UNCG, who conducted the study.

He said the arena has attracted national attention to Greensboro through televised events such as the ACC and NCAA basketball tournaments.

That exposure may help attract new businesses and provides residents “some psychic value or community pride,” even if they don’t attend the events.

“It enlarges our lives,” Layson said of the venue, which hosted 854 events in 2007-08. “There is a benefit over the dollar figures.”

But on at least one occasion, the dollar figures at the coliseum also led to trouble. In August 1985, Director Jim Oshust resigned after evidence implicated him and two of his lieutenants in the misuse of coliseum funds.

An audit found questionable arrangements with rock concert promoters who received unauthorized breaks on arena rent, sometimes totaling thousands of dollars per event. It also found questionable personnel practices and a lack of documentation for sales of novelty items, such as T-shirts, that also amounted to thousands of dollars.

Oshust received a suspended sentence as a result of a plea arrangement.

In the wake of the scandal, the city put stricter financial controls in place, but the coliseum remained in turmoil for years.

Such news added to the complex’s list of critics. Over the years, they have complained about traffic congestion during major events, annual operating deficits and the cost of tickets, parking and concessions.

Many of them have voted no on bond referendums to pay for additional face-lifts. Last fall, for example, voters turned down a $50 million bond issue for renovating War Memorial Auditorium, the adjoining 2,400-seat theater.

Voters also rejected plans for a $36 million renovation there two years earlier.

But that’s nothing new.

It took four tries before voters agreed to a bond issue to fund the original construction. And it took three tries to fund a major expansion completed in 1993.

The idea of a coliseum first arose in 1944. Mayor William H. Sullivan wanted a facility to honor Guilford County’s dead from World War II. But it took years for the city to agree on plans, a location and funding.

Construction began in 1958 at the former Greensboro Fairgrounds on West Lee Street. The coliseum, seating 7,100 people, opened on Oct. 29, 1959.

“Man,” said one visitor, “it looks like New York.”

Today, Matt Brown says the original coliseum looked like “an Army Quonset hut.”

The project, including War Memorial Auditorium, cost $4.5 million.

The first major face-lift came in 1970, when the city added an exhibit building, air conditioning and 8,000 upper-level seats. That upgrade cost $5.5 million.

The next major expansion came in 1993 when a $45.7 million expansion doubled the size of the exhibition facility and boosted arena seating from 15,600 to 23,500.

Those changes transformed the coliseum into the basic look that NCAA fans saw Thursday and Saturday.

While many cities have torn down old arenas and built new, larger ones with lots of corporate boxes, Greensboro opted to expand its coliseum.

That means that some events — like the Final Four — have left the city behind. But organizers of events like early-round NCAA games and the ACC still like coming to Greensboro.

The Gate City will host the men’s ACC tournament for five of the next six years.

And the U.S. Figure Skating Championships will come to town in 2011, bringing 1,500 athletes and coaches and national television coverage.

“It’s a major national championship,” Brown said recently. “It was a tremendous victory for Greensboro.”

The local concert scene shows signs of improving, too. Bruce Springsteen will perform at the coliseum May 2 and the Grateful Dead and Taylor Swift both have dates here later this year.

The coliseum also has addressed the lack of a permanent tenant.

Next fall, UNCG will play its regular-season men’s home games at the coliseum. While the Spartans aren’t the Tar Heels or the Demon Deacons when it comes to drawing fans, the team’s presence could ease a long-standing problem.

“We are one of the largest facilities in the country without a permanent tenant,” said Keith Debbage, a geography professor at UNCG. “That has been a major problem for us.”

Debbage admits he’s a fan of the coliseum, calling it “one of the most fan-friendly facilities in America.”

Beyond that, he said, the complex adds to the community’s quality of life.

“We have had a wonderful return on our investment,” Debbage said. “There’s no doubt about it. It’s hard to imagine life without it.”

Contact Donald W. Patterson at 373-7027 or don.patterson @news-record.com