Stokely Athletic Center
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| William B. Stokely Athletic Center | |
|---|---|
| Location | 1720 Volunteer Blvd Knoxville, TN 37996 |
| Broke ground | 1957 |
| Opened | 1958 |
| Owner | Univ. of Tennessee |
| Operator | Univ. of Tennessee |
| Surface | Horner "Pro King" hardwood |
| Construction cost | $1.5 million |
| Former names | UT Armory-Fieldhouse (1958 - December 1, 1966) |
| Tenants | Tennessee Lady Vols (Volleyball) |
| Capacity | 12,700 |
The Stokely Athletic Center is an on-campus arena located at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. It currently houses the women's volleyball team, but prior to the building of Thompson-Boling Arena, it also housed the men's and women's basketball teams starting in 1966. It is located about a block from both the new arena and Neyland Stadium. It replaced Alumni Gymnasium, a 3,200-seat arena-auditorium built in 1931 which had hosted the SEC basketball tournament four times (1936, '37, '39 and '40).
The University of Tennessee's Armory-Fieldhouse was built in 1958 to accommodate larger on-campus crowds. It originally housed 7,800 people in the elongated building, with permanent seating in the west end and temporary seating lining the rest of the arena, which was also used for the ROTC, indoor track, and other events. However, by the mid-1960s the fieldhouse was already becoming obsolete for its size. A $500,000 gift from industrialist William B. Stokely was the impetus for an expansion to the final size of 12,700 in 1966, when the building was renamed for Stokely and his family. Permanent seating was installed on the other three sides, including balcony seating on the north and south sides. Interestingly, the expansion had been planned by the original designers when creating the original layout.
Stokely was the home of many great teams, including several SEC titles. It also served as the home of the women's basketball team from midway through the 1976-77 season until the end of the 1986-87 season, which was also the year of their first NCAA women's basketball championship. They had hosted the NCAA Mideast regionals in the building. Besides serving as the current home of the volleyball team and the indoor track and field team, it has been the home of the women's athletics offices, and still occasionally serves as an alternate site when the larger arena is booked for events.
[edit] Trivia
Probably one of most famous basketball games played at Stokely didn't involve a Tennessee team. The University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville played there in the NCAA Mideast Regional Final (AKA "The Dream Game") on March 26, 1983. It was the first time since 1959 that the two schools had played each other. Louisville won, 80-68.
