By 
April 2, 2025
What does the Von Braun Center mean to Huntsville?
It’s a fascinating question to consider as the sprawling facility celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2025.
An aerial view of the Von Braun Center, left, and downtown Huntsville in 1978. (VBC photo)
Memories, of course, come to mind. Music we’ve rocked, games we’ve cheered, events we’ve celebrated. It’s why the building was built.
But over 50 years, it’s come to mean more than a favorite concert or an exciting game. At its downtown location, it’s become the hub and heartbeat of Huntsville. It’s become a constant as Huntsville in 1975 dramatically grew into 2025 Huntsville.
“The Von Braun Center made us a community,” Mayor Tommy Battle said in an apt description.
A community. What a dynamic legacy.
“I don’t think they build facilities like this anymore,” VBC Executive Director Steve Maples said. “These days, the arena stands alone, and the convention center stands alone.”
In Huntsville, though, it’s all under one roof. It’s all on one site. And on a busy day, up to a dozen different events will be happening at the VBC.
The exterior of the Von Braun Center arena, now known as Propst Arena, has undergone some dramatic changes since it opened in 1975. (VBC photo)
In a sense, the concrete and steel of the VBC is a living facility. It’s growing, changing, improving. Through new construction and refurbishment, it’s a fresh building that doesn’t look its age. That’s a function of support for the city-owned facility by City leadership.
“Mayor Battle has been so supportive of the VBC,” Maples said. “I can’t say thank you enough to the Mayor and the City Council. We probably have the best relationship with the City that we’ve ever had.”
It’s this support that has led to the facelift and expansion the VBC has undergone in recent years – including the opening of Mars Music Hall and the VBC’s first restaurant, Rhythm on Monroe, in 2020. No part of the VBC has gone untouched.
More subtle changes, such as the $380,000 upgrade to the steel rigging system at the Mark C. Smith Concert Hall, will support large-scale touring Broadway productions. The project was funded by the Mark C. Smith Family Foundation.
Future expansion, still in the planning stages, will be on the surface parking lot on the west side of the VBC.
But before the future, the past and a fond recollection of the events that made the memories.
“For 50 years,” the VBC’s celebration slogan states, “we’ve been your place.”
Improvements at the VBC, such as the lobby entrance of the Mark C. Smith Concert Hall, have been hallmarks of the facility’s longevity. (VBC photo)
Built for $15 million, what was known as the Von Braun Civic Center opened March 14, 1975, with the Beaux Arts Ball in the exhibit hall. Ten days later, Johnny Cash became the first headlining act to play the arena. But no history of the VBC can be written without mentioning Elvis Presley, who performed five sold-out shows from May 30-June 1, 1975. He sold out two more shows on Sept. 6, 1976.
Along the way, there were concerts by Prince and the Eagles, sporting events, industry trade shows, banquets, presidential visits and countless high school and college graduations.
“I just love the building,” Maples said. “I love how each event leaves people so happy.
“I’m really proud of where we are.”
Ultimately, as Mayor Battle said, it’s the legacy of community. It’s the bond of a fast-growing city, a place that brings us all together.
It’s a golden anniversary worthy of celebration.
