Williams Arena

Williams Arena
Construction
"The Barn" "The Barnyard"

Former names	Minnesota Field House (1928–1950)
Location	1925 Southeast University Avenue Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
Coordinates	44°58′37″N 93°13′42″W / 44.97694°N 93.22833°W / 44.97694; -93.22833Coordinates: 44°58′37″N 93°13′42″W / 44.97694°N 93.22833°W / 44.97694; -93.22833
Owner	University of Minnesota
Operator	University of Minnesota
Capacity	14,625 (Arena proper) 5,700 (Sports Pavilion)
Surface	Multi-surface
Broke ground	May 10, 1927^[1]
Opened	February 4, 1928^[2]
Renovated	1950, 1993, 1997
Construction cost	$650,000 ($8.97 million in 2016 dollars^[3])
Architect	Clarence H. Johnston, Sr.^[4] HGA/Hastings+Chivetta (renovations)
Services engineer	Pillsbury Engineering Company^[5]
General contractor	Madsen Construction Company^[5]
Tenants
Minnesota Golden Gophers (Men's & Women's Basketball Men's & Women's Gymnastics Volleyball and Wrestling) 1951 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

Williams Arena, located on the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota is the home of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers men's and women's basketball teams. It also housed the men's hockey team until 1993, when it moved into its own building, Mariucci Arena. The building is known affectionately 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 on the U of M'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 TCF Bank Stadium, Mariucci Arena, and Ridder Arena, where the football and hockey teams respectively play.

History

The entrance

Initially known as the Minnesota Field House (another building has that name today), Williams Arena was constructed in the 1920s and opened in 1928. The original construction of Williams Arena cost $650,000.^[6] The arena was remodeled in 1950, and renamed Williams Arena after Dr. 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. The old Mariucci Arena within Williams was remodeled into the Sports Pavilion and now houses the volleyball, wrestling, and gymnastic teams.

The venue hosted the 1951 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament championship game and the 1964 NCAA Men's Division I 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.

Williams Arena was used for the filming of scenes in Columbia Pictures' 1978 motion picture release, Ice Castles.^[7]

Design

The building has an arched roof, in the same manner as an airplane hangar. 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.

New videoboard installed prior to the 2012-13 season

Raised floor

Williams Arena features an unusual raised floor design. The court surface is raised above the ground approximately two feet so that players' benches, officials tables, etc., are actually below the court. The same goes for fans with the first row looking 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 examples left and contributes significantly to the historic aura of the 80-year-old arena. This served as the inspiration for the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship to host stadiums for their Final Four as of 2009 to have the floor about three feet off the stadium floor as part of an increased capacity to a minimum of 70,000. The floor in Williams Arena recently underwent a replacement. PCL Construction began work on May 11, 2009, replacing the original playing surface from 1928 with a new floor along with new basketball goals. This was the first major upgrade to the facility since a renovation occurred in the early 1990s. Memorial Gymnasium at Vanderbilt University^[8] and Hinkle Fieldhouse at Butler University^[9] are two other existing arenas with a raised floor. Robertson Memorial Field House at Bradley University, since demolished, also used a raised floor.^[10]

Seating capacity

**Seating capacities**
1928–1950	14,100
1950–1971	18,025
1971–1987	17,500
1987–1993	16,434
1993–1997	14,321
1997–present	14,625

From 1950 until the opening of Marriott Center at Brigham Young University in 1971, it had the largest capacity of any collegiate basketball arena in the country. Hinkle Fieldhouse at Butler University also was constructed in 1928, and held the honor of being the highest capacity arena until the remodeling of Williams Arena in 1950.

Before Williams Arena

When the Gophers basketball team first organized, they played games in the on-campus YMCA. 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.^[11]^:6 The Gophers remained in the Armory for almost thirty years. Halfway through the 1924–25 season, coach Harold Taylor moved the team from the University Armory to the Kenwood Armory in downtown Minneapolis.^[11]^:50 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.^[11]^:50

References

↑ "New $650,000 Field Housee of Tremendous Size" (PDF). Minnesota Alumni Weekly. 27 (17): 7. February 11, 1928. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
↑ Rippel, Joel A.; Reusse, Patrick (2006). Minnesota Sports Almanac. Saint Paul: The Minnesota Historical Society Press. p. 366. ISBN 0-87351-558-7. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
↑ Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Community Development Project. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
↑ "Fun Facts: Folwell Hall Renovation". University of Minnesota. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
1 2 "The Architect, the Engineers, the Contractors and Sub-Contractors Who Are Building the Field House" (PDF). Minnesota Alumni Weekly. 27 (17): 343. February 11, 1928. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
↑ "Williams Arena Tickets". PerfectTix. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
↑ "Ice Castles (1978) Filming Locations". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
↑ Vanderbilt University Admissions: Self-Guided Tours
↑ Richards, Phil (March 8, 2007). "History's Home Court". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved March 8, 2007. What makes a basketball building a cathedral? The tradition? The ghosts of great players and great games past? The raised floor with its singular springiness
↑ Ori, Ryan (March 25, 2008). "Remembering Robertson: Origins of a Mecca". Journal Star (Peoria). Retrieved March 25, 2008.
1 2 3 Hugunin, Marc and Stew Thornley. Minnesota Hoops: Basketball in the North Star State. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2006.

^[1]

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Williams Arena.

Williams Arena at GopherSports.com

Preceded by Madison Square Garden	NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Finals Venue 1951	Succeeded by Hec Edmundson Pavilion
Preceded by Broadmoor Ice Palace Colorado Springs, Colorado	Host of the Frozen Four 1958	Succeeded by RPI Field House Troy, New York
Preceded by Meehan Auditorium Providence, Rhode Island	Host of the Frozen Four 1966	Succeeded by Onondaga War Memorial Syracuse, New York

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Academics

Colleges and schools	College of Biological Sciences College of Continuing Education College of Design School of Dentistry College of Education and Human Development College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences School of Journalism and Mass Communication Law School College of Liberal Arts Carlson School of Management Medical School School of Nursing College of Pharmacy Humphrey School of Public Affairs School of Public Health College of Science and Engineering College of Veterinary Medicine College in the Schools

Research centers and institutes	Institute for Advanced Study Charles Babbage Institute Institute on the Environment The Geometry Center GroupLens Research Heller-Hurwicz Economics Institute Immigration History Research Center Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy Institute for Law and Politics Institute for Mathematics and its Applications Masonic Cancer Center Minnesota International Center Minnesota Population Center National Center for Engineering and Technology Education The Polar Geospatial Center University of Minnesota primate research University of Minnesota Supercomputing Institute William I. Fine Theoretical Physics Institute

Journals	Mechademia Management Information Systems Quarterly Minnesota Law Review Minnesota Journal of International Law Journal of Transport and Land Use Wíčazo Ša Review

Athletics

Campus

Student life

History

Shyamala Rajender v. University of Minnesota

Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball

Venues	On-campus YMCA (1895–1896) UM Armory (1896–1925) Kenwood Armory (1925–1928) Williams Arena (1928–present)

Culture & lore	History Goldy Gopher "Minnesota Rouser" Scandal

People	Head coaches

Seasons	1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–00 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics

Basketball arenas of the Big Ten Conference

State Farm Center (Illinois)
Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (Indiana)
Carver-Hawkeye Arena (Iowa)
Xfinity Center (Maryland)
Crisler Center (Michigan)
Breslin Student Events Center (Michigan State)
Williams Arena (Minnesota)
Pinnacle Bank Arena (Nebraska)
Welsh-Ryan Arena (Northwestern)
Value City Arena (Ohio State)
Bryce Jordan Center (Penn State)
Mackey Arena (Purdue)
Louis Brown Athletic Center (Rutgers)
Kohl Center (Wisconsin)

Basketball student sections of the Big Ten Conference

Orange Krush (Illinois) Crimson Guard (Indiana) The Hawks Nest (Iowa) The Wall (Maryland) Maize Rage (Michigan) Izzone (Michigan State) The Barnyard (Minnesota) Red Zone (Nebraska) Wildside (Northwestern) Buckeye NutHouse (Ohio State) Legion Of Blue (Penn State) Paint Crew (Purdue) Riot Squad (Rutgers) Grateful Red (Wisconsin)

Skyscrapers and major buildings in Minneapolis

Commercial	100 Washington Square 33 South Sixth 50 South Sixth Accenture Tower Ameriprise Financial Center AT&T Tower Campbell Mithun Tower Canadian Pacific Plaza CenturyLink Building Capella Tower RBC Plaza Fifth Street Towers II IDS Center McGladrey Plaza Plaza VII Rand Tower Target Plaza South Wells Fargo Center US Bancorp Center US Bank Plaza I US Bank Plaza II LaSalle Plaza

Residential	110 Grant Apartments The Carlyle Centre Village Churchill Apartments Fifth Street Towers I Hennepin Crossings La Rive Condominiums Lake Point Condominiums Loring Park Tower The Nic on Fifth Riverside Plaza Skyscape Condominiums Summit House East

Hospitality	Graves 601 Hotel Hilton Minneapolis Hotel Hyatt Regency Minneapolis IVY Hotel + Residences Marriott Hotel City Center Marquette Hotel Radisson Plaza Foshay Tower

Sports	Mariucci Arena Target Center Target Field TCF Bank Stadium Williams Arena U.S. Bank Stadium

Government	Hennepin County Government Center Minneapolis City Hall U.S. Courthouse

Pending	10th & Marquette Apartment Tower 4Marq Downtown East Mixed-Use Tower A Downtown East Mixed-Use Tower B Eclipse Towers Portland Tower Nicollet Hotel Block Tower Ritz Block Towers

See also	List of tallest buildings in Minneapolis

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

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