Murphy Center

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Monte Hale Arena
Murphy Center
Location	Middle Tennessee Blvd. Murfreesboro, TN 37132
Opened	1973
Owner	Middle Tenn. St. Univ.
Tenants
Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders (NCAA) 1973-Present
Capacity
11,520

Charles M. Murphy Athletic Center (Murphy Center for short) is the name of the main athletic department building at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA. The building was built in 1972 and named in honor of Murphy, a standout athlete at the college in the 1930s.

Housed inside the building are most of the university's athletics offices, some classroom space, athletic practice facilities and weight rooms, the student ID center, and, most notably, the 11,520-seat multi-purpose Monte Hale Arena, home to the MTSU Blue Raiders basketball and volleyball teams. Though named in honor of local sportswriter Monte Hale, the arena is most often called "Murphy Center", which is actually the name of the building that houses it.

The arena hosted the Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament three times: 1975, 1985, and 1987. It hosted the Sun Belt Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments in 2006. It is also home to the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association's boys and girls Division I state high school basketball and volleyball championships. MTSU's graduation ceremonies are also held in the arena.

The arena features a bowl of permanent box seats around the basketball floor, and eighteen sections of collapsible bleachers on the concourse above the bowl. The arena is in the midst of a renovation, which so far has included a new basketball floor and new seating.

From its opening until the mid-1990s, Murphy Center was the Nashville area's premier indoor concert venue, hosting concerts by Elton John, Garth Brooks, Kiss, and the final farewell concert by The Judds. Since the opening of Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center in 1996, Murphy Center rarely hosts concerts.

The southeast corner of the building is contiguous with Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium, the university's football venue.

Current Basketball Arenas in the Sun Belt Conference

Cajundome (Louisiana-Lafayette) • Convocation Center (Arkansas State) • E.A. Diddle Arena (Western Kentucky) • Fant-Ewing Coliseum (Louisiana-Monroe) • FAU Arena (Florida Atlantic) • Jack Stephens Center (Arkansas-Little Rock) • Lakefront Arena (New Orleans) • Magness Arena (Denver) • Mitchell Center (South Alabama) • Murphy Center (Middle Tennessee) • Pharmed Arena (Florida International) • Super Pit (North Texas) • Trojan Arena (Troy) Temporary: Human Performance Center (New Orleans)