Prior to the season, the team's founders, Sid Salomon, Jr. and Sid Salomon III, sold the team to pet food giant Ralston Purina, and the St. Louis Arena became the Checkerdome.
At one point, Ralston Purina owned an interest in the St. Louis Blues National Hockey League team; during this period, the arena they then used was referred to as the “Checkerdome”.
During the company's ownership of the team, they changed the name of the St. Louis Arena to the Checkerdome, reflecting the Ralston Purina logo.
Deem photographed wrestling cards staged in St. Louis, Missouri, at the Kiel Auditorium and The Checkerdome under the promotional banner of Sam Muchnick's St. Louis Wrestling Club.