Alumni Hall was a 5,308-seat multi-purpose

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 ...

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 ...

on DePaul's Lincoln Park campus.

History

Alumni Hall was dedicated on December 16, 1956, and was owned and operated by

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

. It replaced the

University Auditorium University Auditorium is a name used by multiple universities for auditorium spaces. It may refer to: * Chulalongkorn University Auditorium * Eisenhower Auditorium, originally named University Auditorium * Indiana University Auditorium *University A ...

, the school's prior on-campus gym. A student-led fundraising campaign raised $25,000 over five weeks. This covered part of the building cost, which totaled $2 million. Construction began on Oct. 3 in 1955 and finished in December 1956. The 44-year-old building consisted of classrooms, offices, an arena, a gymnasium with 5,200 seats, a swimming pool, locker rooms, handball courts and a cafeteria. Alumni Hall's value was equivalent to $18 million today. It was home to the

DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball The DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball program is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's basketball program of DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. The team competes in the Big East Conference. DePaul's last NCAA tournament victory was in ...

team from 1956 until they moved to the

Rosemont Horizon 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) ab ...

in 1980. The

DePaul Blue Demons women's basketball The DePaul Blue Demons women's basketball program is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate women's basketball program of DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. The team competes in the Big East Conference. The Blue Demons play home games at Wintru ...

team played all their home games at Alumni Hall from 1974 to 2000, while the men's team played occasional games there. The DePaul Blue Demons women's volleyball team also played their home matches at Alumni Hall. The building was the site of the first round of the men's NCAA Midwest Regional in 1960 and was used for first round NCAA women's basketball tournament games in 1990 and 1992. The arena closed in 2000 and was torn down in 2001. The women's team moved to the

Sullivan Athletic Center The Sullivan Athletic Center is an athletic facility on the campus of DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. The facility houses McGrath-Phillips Arena, a 3,000-seat multi-purpose arena. It is the home arena for the women's volleyball team and ...

and the men's team moved all games to their main arena, 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) ...

(formerly the Rosemont Horizon). The land for Alumni Hall was repurposed for the new DePaul Student Center. The arena has been succeeded by the

Wintrust Arena Wintrust Arena at McCormick Square, previously referred to as DePaul Arena or McCormick Place Events Center, is a 10,387-seat sports venue in the Near South Side, Chicago, Near South Side Community areas of Chicago, community area of Chicago t ...

. It was built in the fall of 2017 and holds 10,367 seats for DePaul's men's and women's basketball games. It is also home to the Chicago Sky of the WNBA.

Professional basketball

Alumni Hall was the practice facility for the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

in the 1960s and 1970s. Alumni Hall was home to the Chicago Hustle of the WBL from 1978 to 1981.

References

1956 establishments in Illinois 2000 disestablishments in Illinois Boxing venues in Chicago Chicago Bulls Defunct college basketball venues in the United States Defunct indoor arenas in Illinois Defunct sports venues in Illinois Demolished buildings and structures in Chicago Demolished sports venues in Illinois DePaul Blue Demons basketball venues DePaul Blue Demons women's volleyball Loyola Ramblers basketball Sports venues completed in 1956 Sports venues demolished in 2000 Volleyball venues in Chicago University and college buildings completed in 1956 {{Chicago-struct-stub