Alumni Arena (University at Buffalo)
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Alumni Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Buffalo, New York. The arena is home to the University at Buffalo. The nickname for the men's and women's basketball, women's volleyball, and wrestling teams is the Buffalo Bulls. The facility currently seats 6,100 people.
[edit] Description
The Recreation and Athletics Complex (RAC) on the University's North Campus includes Alumni Arena, a $12.5 million Phase II Building and a $1.5 million outdoor playing fields complex.
Alumni Arena's main gymnasium is home to the Bulls' men's and women's basketball teams, wrestling team and the women's volleyball team. The largest "free-floating" hardwood floor in the United States at the time it was built, it features basketball, volleyball and badminton courts circled by a 200-meter track and seating for 6,100 spectators following renovations during the summer of 2004. The arena used to seat more than 8,000 people, but a renovation project funded by the Blue & White club reduced the seating to 6,100 by eliminating bleachers and adding chairbacks.
The student section's location also changed with the renovations. Before the renovations, the students used to generally sit (or stand) behind the scorer's table, from baseline to baseline, except immediately behind the players’ benches. When UB Men's Basketball experienced a resurgence during the 2003-04 season, the entire section was filled with standing students and Alumni Arena became one of the louder venues in the MAC, if not the country. Unfortunately when students stormed the court after a major victory, they would often run over the scorer's table. Partially because of this, after renovations the majority of the student section was relocated to behind the baskets, with some of the old student section remaining behind both players’ benches. Today, Alumni Arena remains a hostile environment for any visiting team.
For basketball, Alumni Arena ranks as the second-largest on-campus facility in the state of New York, behind only Syracuse's Carrier Dome. For volleyball matches, a specially designed sport-court from the 1993 World University Games is utilized.
The building includes three levels of offices, locker rooms, equipment and training-therapy rooms, seminar rooms and racquetball courts. The Phase II Building on the north side of Alumni Arena has an Olympic-sized swimming pool and a separate diving well, a triple gymnasium and dance studio. Other areas are a wrestling practice room, two weight-training rooms (a state-of-the-art fitness center and a varsity weight room) additional racquetball and squash courts, an erg room, and an aerobics room.
The playing fields complex is located behind Alumni Arena and features lighted soccer fields, field hockey, softball and several multi-purpose fields, 10 tennis courts, two basketball courts, two handball courts and an archery range.
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