The James M. Delmar Fieldhouse is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena located in
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 ...
. It is one of several
Houston Independent School District
The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest Public school (government funded), public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the ci ...
’s athletics facilities.
The $35.2 million facility hosts basketball and volleyball games and tournaments, as well as graduation ceremonies and other special events.
The maple court floor is removable and expandable, providing use for both the 84 feet required for high school games and the 94 feet required for NCAA play. The court flooring features a star representing the HISD logo and an image of the Houston skyline. Lower level seating is retractable, allowing for additional floor space, if needed. The entrance to the arena also showcases a portion of the center court floor from the original fieldhouse
The entire area including the fieldhouse, stadium, softball and baseball fields are referred to as the Delmar-Tusa Sports Complex.
Demolition and Construction
The Delmar Fieldhouse demolition project was part of the work planned under the 2012 Bond’s district athletic facility improvements. Demolition of the original 55-year old facility began in 2014 and the new building was completed in 2017.
History
Delmar Fieldhouse was the home court of the
Houston Cougars men's basketball
The Houston Cougars men's basketball team represents the University of Houston in Houston, Texas, in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Division I (NCAA), Division I men's College basketball, basketball competition. They compete as mem ...
team, featuring
Elvin Hayes
Elvin Ernest Hayes (born November 17, 1945), nicknamed "the Big E", is an American former professional basketball player and radio analyst for his alma mater Houston Cougars. He is a member of the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams, and ...
, during the 1960s. It hosted a Midwest regional quarterfinal game between the Cougars and the
Marquette Warriors in
1961
Events January
* January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union.
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...
, the first NCAA men's basketball tournament game held in the city and second in the state of Texas, after the 1957 tournament, which held the Midwest Regional at the
SMU Coliseum
Moody Coliseum is a 7,000-seat multi-purpose arena in University Park, Texas (an inner suburb of Dallas). The arena opened in 1956. It is home to the Southern Methodist University Mustangs basketball teams and volleyball team. It was also home ...
in Dallas.
In 2007, the
WNBA's
Houston Comets
The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...
and
Connecticut Sun
The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Sun compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team i ...
played a pre-season game at Delmar Fieldhouse.
In 2008, it served as the home court for the
Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund an ...
Tigers women's basketball team.
In 2017 Delmar Fieldhouse became a distribution center for the
Hurricane Harvey
Hurricane Harvey was a devastating tropical cyclone that made landfall in Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cy ...
flooding crisis in Houston.
In the new facility, Delmar hosted the 2018
Southwestern Athletic Conference
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United St ...
men’s and women’s post-season basketball tournament.
See also
*
Delmar Stadium
References
External links
Delmar Fieldhouse renovation unveilingHouston Comets practice at Delmar Fieldhouse
{{Houston Cougars men's basketball navbox
Houston Independent School District
Defunct college basketball venues in the United States
Basketball venues in Houston
Volleyball venues in Houston
Texas Southern Tigers basketball
Houston Cougars basketball venues
1958 establishments in Texas
Sports venues completed in 1958
2013 disestablishments in Texas
Sports venues demolished in 2014
2017 establishments in Texas
Sports venues completed in 2017