The arena was originally built in 1949, seating 10,034, to replace a building on the same site that had burned down a year earlier.

It was known as "The House that Béliveau Built", as it was often filled to capacity in its earlier years to watch Jean Béliveau star for the Quebec Aces before moving to the NHL and the Montreal Canadiens.

Two decades later, sellout crowds came to see Guy Lafleur as a member of the Quebec Remparts before, he too, would join the Canadiens.

The building went under major renovations in 1980. The old entrance was taken down and replaced with a massive glass facade and raised capacity to 15,750, to meet NHL standards of that era after the Nordiques made the jump from the WHA to the NHL.

It was the home of the WHA and NHL Quebec Nordiques from 1972 to 1995, and home of the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) from 1999 to 2015.

The Colisée served as the host facility of the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament from 1960 to 2015.

The Colisée's final event was a Metallica concert on September 14, 2015 for the Lords of Summer Tour.