William & Mary Hall
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William & Mary Hall is the name of the building used for athletic events for the The College of William & Mary Tribe sports teams in Williamsburg, Virginia. Kaplan Arena is the 8,600-seat multi-purpose arena within the Hall. When the extra bleachers are pulled out, however, it seats up to 11,300.[1] The arena's floor measures almost 24,000 square feet.[2] It's name was granted in 2005 as part of a publicized funding effort by then-college president Gene Nichol. Between the 1920s and 1970s, Kaplan Arena's old name was Blow Gym, and aside from the renaming it has also been relocated. It hosted the last ECAC South men's basketball tournament in 1985 (the conference added more championships in the 1985-86 school year and was renamed the CAA). Retired jersey banners depicting some of W&M's own basketball greats hang from the rafters of Kaplan Arena. The arena opened in 1971 and is home to the Tribe basketball, gymnastics and volleyball teams.[1]
The Hall's lower level houses the coaching & staff offices for the school's athletic department. William & Mary Hall also hosts a seminar room, medical suite, and a gymnastics workout area.[1] Completed in 17 months by the Southeastern Construction Company of Charlotte, North Carolina, the building cost $5.3 million but was financed by state revenue bonds.[1]
The Harlem Globetrotters and the Roller Derby, as well as other sports and entertainment acts, have also utilized Kaplan Arena as a venue over the years. "[People] in the Williamsburg area have seen auto shows, dog shows, Prince Charles, Glenn Close, a Billy Graham crusade, Bette Midler, Billy Joel, [the 1976 televised presidential debates] between candidates Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, the Shakespeare Players, a three-ring circus, and even a Howdy Doody show."[1] It also hosted the G-7 Conference in 1983 for some of the world's leaders, including Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Francois Mitterand.
The first musical concert in Kaplan Arena, performed in 1971, was by Sly and the Family Stone. The record for the largest crowd to ever attend a concert was 13,514 for The Police in February 1982.[1] Other notable performers have included My Chemical Romance, Muse, R.E.M., Sting, The Grateful Dead, Bruce Hornsby, 10,000 Maniacs, Beach Boys, Chicago, and the Stone Temple Pilots.[1].
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