The Wesley Brown Field House is a

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...

at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

. It is located between the 7th Wing of Bancroft Hall and Santee Basin. The facility houses

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

, varsity sports, club sports, and personal-fitness programs and

equipment Equipment most commonly refers to a set of tools or other objects commonly used to achieve a particular objective. Different job Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and ...

. It is home to the

Midshipmen A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, Sout ...

women's volleyball team, men's and women's indoor track and field teams, men's wrestling, women’s lacrosse team and sixteen club sports. It also serves as the

practice Practice or practise may refer to: Education and learning * Practice (learning method), a method of learning by repetition * Phantom practice, phenomenon in which a person's abilities continue to improve, even without practicing * Practice-based ...

space for the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

and women's volleyball teams. There is also a centralized sports-medicine facility. The building has a total room area of , eight locker rooms, and 300 lockers.Wesley Brown Field House
official webpage. Retrieved 2010-02-09. The field house has a full-length, , retractable Magic Carpet

AstroTurf AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Since the early 2000s, AstroTurf has ...

football field. When the field is retracted, students can then use the 200-meter AstroTurf

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

with a Mondo track surface and

hydraulically Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counte ...

-controlled banked curves and three permanent

basketball court In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with -high rims on each basket. Outdoor su ...

s. In four to six hours, the indoor track-and-field can be changed to an indoor football practice field, including target

goalposts In sport, a goal may refer to either an instance of scoring, or to the physical structure or area where an attacking team must send the ball or puck in order to score points. The structure of a goal varies from sport to sport, and one is plac ...

for placekicking practice. The

synthetic Synthetic things are composed of multiple parts, often with the implication that they are artificial. In particular, 'synthetic' may refer to: Science * Synthetic chemical or compound, produced by the process of chemical synthesis * Synthetic ...

playing surface (with football-field yard-lines) is stored on a spool at the field house's south end. The surface is put in place by nine winches and an 18-port air-blower that makes the turf float across the field-house floor while being deployed and retracted. The weight room is one of three "strength and conditioning facilities" at the academy. With , it serves the members of the following teams: men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's track, golf,

sprint football Sprint football, formerly called lightweight football, is a varsity sport played by United States colleges and universities, under standard American football rules. As of the 2022 season, the sport is governed by the Collegiate Sprint Football ...

, volleyball, water polo, and women's lacrosse. The facility is named for the first African American to graduate from the Academy, retired Lt. Cmdr.

Wesley A. Brown Wesley Anthony Brown (April 3, 1927 – May 22, 2012) was the first African-American graduate of the United States Naval Academy (USNA) in Annapolis, Maryland. He served in the United States Navy from May 2, 1949, until June 30, 1969. He was invo ...

, who graduated in 1949. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on March 25, 2006. Brown wielded a shovel in the groundbreaking. Hensel Phelps Construction Company constructed the field house, which was completed in March 2008. The U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) administered the contract for construction. The building was dedicated on May 10, 2008. Brown participated in the

ribbon-cutting ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Jeffrey L. Fowler, and Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley. Also present were almost one thousand guests.

Footnotes

External links

Wesley Brown Field House
official webpage
Photos
of interior (26 images) and exterior (30 images). By Blake Marvin. Retrieved 2010-02-09.

USNA official website. Retrieved 2010-02-09. {{USNA College lacrosse venues in the United States Navy Midshipmen sports venues Sports venues in Maryland Indoor arenas in Maryland Lacrosse venues in Maryland Indoor lacrosse venues in the United States Sports venues completed in 2008 United States Naval Academy buildings and structures 2008 establishments in Maryland

See also

Footnotes

External links