The State Farm Center is a large

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

-shaped 15,544-seat

indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

located in

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in ...

, owned and operated by the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

. The arena hosts games for the

Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball The Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Big Ten Conference, that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Home games are played at the State Farm Center, loca ...

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It was first played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large parts via women's college compet ...

, and

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

teams. It also doubles as a performance and event center, and is one of the largest venues between

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. It opened in 1963 and was known until 2013 as Assembly Hall until

State Farm Insurance State Farm Insurance is a group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1922, it is the largest property, casualty and auto insurance provider in the United ...

acquired

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

as part of a major renovation project.

Size

The third largest

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

arena after the

United Center The United Center is an indoor arena on the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is home to the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

and the

Allstate Arena Allstate Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Rosemont, Illinois, United States, northwest of Chicago, located at the corner of Mannheim Road and Lunt Avenue, just north of Mannheim Road's interchange with the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway ( I-90) ...

in Rosemont, State Farm Center has 15,544 permanent seats but, when portable chairs are placed on the floor for an in-the-round performance, there is a potential for an additional 1,000 depending on the stage configuration.

Opening

State Farm Center opened as Assembly Hall on March 2, 1963, and continues to attract attention for its design and construction. From 1963 to 1965, Assembly Hall was the largest dome structure in North America until the opening of the

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, formerly and also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, was the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas, United States. It seated around 50,000 fans, with a record atte ...

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. The roof is supported by of one-quarter inch steel wire wrapped at the base of the dome under intensive pressure. The architect was

Max Abramovitz Max Abramovitz (May 23, 1908 – September 12, 2004) was an American architect. He was best known for his work with the New York City firm Harrison & Abramovitz. Life Abramovitz was the son of Romanian Jewish immigrant parents. He graduat ...

, a University of Illinois alumnus. The contractor was Felmley-Dickerson Co of Urbana, led by Ray Dickerson, who built a number of buildings for the university.

Main uses

Fighting Illini basketball

State Farm Center hosts home games of

and

Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball The Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Big Ten Conference. Home games are played at Assembly Hall (Champaign), State Farm Center, located on University of Illinois at Ur ...

and is also home to the student cheering section, the " Orange Krush," which occupies the floor around the court as well as some seats. At the annual "Paint the Hall Orange" game, everyone in attendance would wear an orange shirt. In recent years, however, it has become customary for Illini fans to wear orange at all home games and so the official "PTHO" game was discontinued after the 2007–08 season. In August 2015, prior to the reopening of the newly renovated State Farm Center, the hardwood floor was dedicated and named Lou Henson Court in honor of the

all-time leader in victories Lou Henson.

IHSA

State Farm Center has hosted a variety of

Illinois High School Association The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National F ...

events. It has been the home of the state individual wrestling tournament since 1967. From 1963 to 1995, State Farm Center played host to the state finals of the boys' basketball tournament. From 1978 to 1991, it also hosted the IHSA girls' basketball tournament. The IHSA announced on June 15, 2020, that the boys' basketball tournament would return after a 25-year absence.

Broadway Series

State Farm Center is also the venue for the annual WCIA 3 Broadway Series, which features popular musicals such as ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'', ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a sung-through musical theatre, stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madama Butterfly'', and similarly tells th ...

'', '' Rent'', and ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and musical theatre#Book musicals, book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia in or around 19 ...

''.

Concerts

The largest concerts by attendance thus far are: Other Uses State Farm Center is also used for various welcome events for incoming freshman and transfer students.

"Illinois Renaissance" renovation

In the autumn of 2008, school officials, led by Athletics Director

Ron Guenther Ronald E. Guenther (born October 3, 1945) is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois from 1975 to 1978, compiling a reco ...

, conducted a study to decide whether to refurbish the then-named Assembly Hall or build a new basketball arena. In 2010, the university opted to renovate the existing structure designed by University of Illinois alumnus Max Abramovitz, and selected the architectural firm

AECOM AECOM (, ; formerly AECOM Technology Corporation; stylised A''Ξ''COM) is an American multinational infrastructure consulting firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company's official name from 1990–2015 was AECOM Technology Corporation, ...

to design the renovation. The athletic department sent surveys to I-Fund and season ticket holders to gauge demand for various premium seating options. Architects used this information to create schematic drawings and architectural renderings near the end of 2012, which then Athletics Director Mike Thomas used to aid in fundraising for the project. The anticipated renovation cost was between $150 and $160 million, and construction would not start before spring of 2014. As part of the renovations,

purchased the naming rights to the arena for $60 million over 30 years. The State Farm Center began renovations after the 2013–14 men's basketball season. Work included adding luxury suites, club/loge seating, new blue seats included in the renovation. In the luxury suites and club level seats, there will be concessions where alcoholic beverages will allowed to be served as well as a buffet area. The total budget for the renovation was estimated at $169.5 million. The construction process did cause some conflicts with scheduled sporting events at the beginning of the 2015-16 basketball season. The men's basketball team played the first five games of the 2015 at the Prairie Capital Convention Center in Springfield, while the 2015 Women's basketball team played their first five games at Parkland College. The renovated arena hosted its first game on December 2, when the Fighting Illini fell to Notre Dame 84–79.

Naming rights

The following corporate sponsor, Fighting Illini benefactors, former

players, and

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

have donated sizeable contributions towards the $169.5 million renovation cost of the State Farm Center.

Historical Fighting Illini home courts

* Kenney Gym (1905–1925) located on the campus of the University of Illinois and is named after Harold E. (Hek) Kenney. The arena opened in 1890 and was originally known as the Men's Gym Annex. * Huff Hall (1925–1963) opened in 1925 and was known as Huff Gymnasium until the 1990s. It is named after George Huff, who was the school's athletic director from 1895 to 1935. *Assembly Hall/State Farm Center (1963–present)

Fighting Illini Men's basketball records at State Farm Center (Assembly Hall)

Attendance

*High attendance for game: 17,087 (Illinois 64, Michigan 52, 2/12/2015) *Low attendance for game: 3,016 (Illinois 90, North Dakota State 73, 12/8/1975) *High attendance for season: 282,506, 2006-07 (17 games, 16,618 avg.) *Low attendance for season: 72,949, 1973-74 (11 games, 6,632 avg.) *Consecutive sellouts: 60, (12/1/2005 - 3/8/2008) *Most sellouts in a season: 17 (2006–07)

Individual single game

*Most points :Overall – 50, Von McDade, Wisconsin-Milwaukee...12/3/1990 :Illini player – 46, Andy Kaufmann...12/3/1990 *Most field goals :Overall – 19,

Rudy Tomjanovich Rudolph Tomjanovich Jr. (born November 24, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He won two NBA Championships with the Houston Rockets (1994, 1995) and coached Team USA to the gold medal in men's basketball at the ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

...2/22/1969 :Illini player – 17, Andy Kaufmann...12/1/1990 & Eddie Johnson...12/8/1979 *Most field goal attempts :Overall – 44, Von McDade, Wisconsin-Milwaukee...12/3/1990 :Illini player – 34, Nick Weatherspoon...1/27/73 *Best field goal accuracy (10 shot minimum) :Overall ''(Illini player)'' – 11/11,

Derek Harper Derek Ricardo Harper (born October 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. A second-team All-American at the University of Illinois, he was the 11th overall pick of the 1983 NBA draft and spent 16 seasons as a point guar ...

...2/19/1983 :Illini player – 10/10,

Ken Norman Kenneth Darnel Norman (born September 5, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. After graduating from Crane High School in Chicago, Kenny was an outstanding forward for the Illinois Fighting Illini who was selected 19th ove ...

...12/14/1985 *Most three-point goals :Overall – 9, Von McDade, Wisconsin-Milwaukee...12/3/1990 :Illini player – 8, Alfonso Plummer...2/24/2022, Brandon Paul...1/10/2012, Trenton Meacham...11/19/2006, & Dee Brown...3/3/2005 *Most three-point field goal attempts :Overall – 22, Von McDade, Wisconsin-Milwaukee...12/3/1990 :Illini player – 16, Kevin Turner...1/3/1998 *Best three-point field goal accuracy (5 attempts minimum) :Overall ''(Illini player)'' – 5/5, Jamar Smith...12/6/2006 :Illini player – 5/5, Sean Harrington...11/26/2000 *Most free throws :Overall – 17, Wayne Radford,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

...3/2/1978 :Illini player – 17,

Kiwane Garris Kiwane Lemorris Garris (born September 24, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. He was listed as a , point guard. Garris played college basketball for the Illinois Fighting Illini as a point guard. As a freshman in the 19 ...

...3/5/1997 *Best free throw accuracy (10 attempts minimum) :Overall – 14/14, C. J. Kupec, Michigan...1/2/1975 :Illini player - 13/13, Kendall Gill...2/8/1990 *Most rebounds :Overall – 23,

Joe Franklin Joe Franklin (March 9, 1926 – January 24, 2015), born Joseph Fortgang, was an American radio and television host personality, author and actor from New York City. Franklin is noted for having the first talk show and inventing the format. His te ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

...12/19/1966 :Illini player – 23, Nick Weatherspoon...3/2/1971 *Most assists :Illini player – 15, Bruce Douglas...12/14/1985 *Most steals :Overall – 7, Delfincko Bogan, UT Martin...11/12/2017 :Illini player – 7, Kendall Gill...3/4/1990, Kenny Battle...3/9/1988 & Bruce Douglas...12/8/1986 *Most blocks :Illini player – 11, Derek Holcomb...12/8/1978 *Most minutes :Illini player – 60, Bruce Douglas...1/28/84

References

External links

Official Site

{{Authority control College basketball venues in Illinois Illinois Fighting Illini basketball Illinois Fighting Illini sports venues Music venues in Illinois Wrestling venues in Illinois Buildings and structures in Champaign, Illinois Sports venues in Champaign–Urbana, Illinois Tourist attractions in Champaign County, Illinois Buildings and structures of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Harrison & Abramovitz buildings 1963 establishments in Illinois Sports venues completed in 1963 State Farm