A fabled block of Dallas real estate has sold to a developer who already owns a big chunk of the neighborhood.

The vacant corner of Cadiz Street and Riverfront Boulevard doesn’t look like much.

But for decades the site at the southwest corner of downtown was home to the Sportatorium, a building at the crossroads of local entertainment and sporting events.

Matthews Southwest just bought the 1.5-acre site to add to its holdings in the area.

“I have no immediate plans but it will be part of the whole new development there,” said developer Jack Matthews, who owns more than 50 acres of adjoining land on Cadiz.

Matthews’ firm created the successful Southside on Lamar development along nearby Lamar Street and has done projects in the surrounding Cedars neighborhood.

The corner Matthews just bought was the site of the Sportatorium arena from the 1950s until it was demolished in 2003.

The barnlike, 4,500-seat performance hall was used for everything from weekly wrestling matches to concerts.

It was the home of the Big D Jamboree, a popular radio program where audiences heard live performances from Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly and Willie Nelson.

The televised wrestling events at the Sportatorium featured Dallas’ Von Erich family and other top wrestling stars and were broadcast on local television.

By the late 1990s, the building had become almost dilapidated and was closed when it could no longer meet city fire codes and standards.

Matthews Southwest developed the nearby South Side on Lamar project located just east of the Sportatorium site. (MICHAEL AINSWORTH/Staff Photographer)

Since then, the corner has been vacant, although interest in redeveloping Dallas’ riverfront has grown.