Williams Arena
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Williams Arena is an
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
Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
,
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
. It is the home arena for the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
's men's and women's
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
teams. It also housed the men's hockey team until 1993, when it moved into its own building, 3M Arena at Mariucci. The building is popularly known as The Barn, and its student section is known as "The Barnyard". Williams Arena is located on the southwest corner of the intersection of University Avenue and 19th Ave. SE in
Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
on the university's East Bank campus. It is in a neighborhood called Stadium Village, named for the old Memorial Stadium that stood there until its demolition in 1992. The arena is adjacent to Huntington Bank Stadium, 3M Arena at Mariucci and Ridder Arena, where the football and men's and women's hockey teams respectively play.


History

When the Gophers basketball team first organized, they played games in the on-campus
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
. In 1896, the team moved into the campus Armory, a large building with gymnasium space for the team to use, even if basketball was not its primary purpose.Hugunin, Marc and Stew Thornley. ''Minnesota Hoops: Basketball in the North Star State.'' St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2006. The Gophers remained in the Armory for almost 30 years. Halfway through the 1924–25 season, coach Harold Taylor moved the team from the University Armory to the Kenwood Armory in
downtown Minneapolis Central is a defined community in Minneapolis that consists of six smaller official neighborhoods around the downtown and central business core. It also includes the many old flour mills, the Mill District, and other historical and industri ...
. This significantly increased the attendance: capacity at the University Armory was 2,000, but it was 6,500 at Kenwood. The team only played at Kenwood for a few seasons, however, as the University of Minnesota Field House (later known as Williams Arena) opened partway through the 1927–1928 season. The team moved in on January 31, 1928. Initially known as the Minnesota Field House (a name now used for a different building), Williams Arena opened in 1928. The original construction of the arena cost $650,000. The arena was remodeled in 1950, and renamed Williams Arena after Henry L. Williams, the football coach from 1900 to 1921. As part of the 1950 renovation, it was divided into two separate arenas within one building: a larger one for basketball and a smaller one for hockey. Both arenas were called Williams Arena until March 2, 1985, when the hockey section was renamed Mariucci Arena after longtime Gopher hockey coach John Mariucci. The hockey team moved into a new building across the street from Williams in 1993, also named
Mariucci Arena 3M Arena at Mariucci ( ) or 3M Arena is the home arena for the Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey team of the University of Minnesota. The arena is located on the Minneapolis campus and seats approximately 10,000 fans (9,600 in the main b ...
. The old Mariucci Arena within Williams was remodeled into the Sports Pavilion, now the Maturi Pavilion, named for former University of Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi in August 2017. which houses the volleyball, wrestling, and gymnastic teams. The venue hosted the 1951 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship game and the 1964 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Mideast Regional. Williams Arena has hosted the 1st and 2nd rounds of the NCAA women's basketball tournament in 2005, 2007, and 2010. The hockey portion of Williams hosted the Frozen Four in 1958 and 1966. The
Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team won the WNBA ...
played all of their 2017 postseason home games at Williams Arena, ultimately winning the franchise's fourth WNBA championship in the building. Williams Arena was used for the filming of scenes in the 1978 film, '' Ice Castles''.


Design

The building has an arched roof, in the same manner as an airplane
hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
. The double arch steel beams allows an open space for the bleachers and floor. There are some seats with partially obscured views due to the upper deck extending past the trusses. Over the summer of 2012, a new Daktronics videoboard and fascia displays were installed as part of a sporting facility update, replacing the older board. The new board is 11'7"x13'8" with LED rings above and below the main display. The fascia extends 360° around the arena.


Raised floor

Williams Arena features an unusual raised floor design. The court surface is raised above the ground approximately two feet so that team benches and scorer's table are below the court. The same goes for fans with the first row, who look at players at about knee-level. Normally, other than the officials and those players actively playing, only head coaches are allowed to be on the court itself. The raised floor is one of only a few remaining in the United States and contributes to the historic aura of the 90-year-old arena. This served as the inspiration for the NCAA Tournament's Final Four, which in recent years has often set its court above the stadium floor. The floor in Williams Arena was changed in 2009, replacing the original playing surface from 1928 with a new floor along with new baskets. This was the first major upgrade to the facility since a renovation occurred in the early 1990s. Memorial Gymnasium at
Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...
and Hinkle Fieldhouse at
Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study within six colleges in the arts, business, communic ...
are two other existing arenas with a raised floor.


Seating capacity

From 1950 until the opening of Marriott Center at
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...
in 1971, it had the largest capacity of any collegiate basketball arena in the country. Hinkle Fieldhouse at
Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study within six colleges in the arts, business, communic ...
also was constructed in 1928, and held the honor of being the highest capacity arena until the remodeling of Williams Arena in 1950.


See also

* List of NCAA Division I basketball arenas


References

conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/53976/1/umaaMag-027_4.pdf


External links


Williams Arena at GopherSports.com
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