| Assembly Hall | |
|---|---|
| Branch McCracken Court | |
| Location | 1001 East 17th Street Bloomington, Indiana 47408-1590 |
| Broke ground | 1970 |
| Opened | December 1, 1971[1] |
| Owner | Indiana University Bloomington |
| Operator | Indiana University Bloomington |
| Surface | Hardwood |
| Architect | Eggers & Higgins |
| Capacity | 17,456 (2001-present) 17,357 (1976-2001) 16,746 (1973-1976) 16,666 (1971-1973) |
| Tenants | |
| Indiana Hoosiers (NCAA) (1972–present) | |
Assembly Hall is a 17,456-seat arena on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the home of the Indiana Hoosiers basketball teams. It opened in 1971 [2], replacing the current Gladstein Fieldhouse. The court is named after Branch McCracken, the men's basketball coach who led the school to its first two NCAA National Championships in 1940 and 1953. Indiana installed a new playing surface during the summer of 1995. New bleacher seats were added, as well, along with a media row and end seating platforms on Lobby Level to give Assembly Hall a "new look". Assembly Hall is well known as being one of the loudest venues in college basketball.
The building has hosted the NCAA basketball tournament three times, with sub-regional games in 1977 and 1979, and the Midwest regional finals in 1981. In 1972, the Hall hosted games for the Indiana Pacers and the New York Nets during the American Basketball Association Championship.
Contents |
In 2005 the school completed construction of a state-of-the-art, $1.9 million scoreboard-video board. It is expected to pull in yearly advertising revenue without costing the athletics department any out-of-pocket expenses. Some Hoosier purists feared the advertisements, which had never before been in Assembly Hall, would ruin the aura and aesthetics.
Assembly Hall has been criticized by some fans for its design. The facility has two main seating sections, to the east and west of the court, and twenty rows of bleachers north and south of the court behind the baskets. Because the facility was designed without consideration for the video replay board added in 2005 that currently hangs above center-court, some of the top rows of the lower level are obstructed from the replay board by the overhanging balcony. The entire court itself, however, is still viewable. The design also makes the stadium one of the loudest venues in college sports.
Populous of Kansas City and Moody-Nolan of Indianapolis designed the practice facility. It is adjacent to Assembly Hall and connected to it by an underground tunnel. It was dedicated on April 25, 2010.
Highlights of the facility include: 67,000 square feet (6,200 m2), coaches' offices, locker rooms, player lounges, meeting/video rooms new practice courts, training room and strength development area and a Legacy Court.
On June 22, 2007, Indiana University trustees approved the demolition of Assembly Hall and the construction of a new basketball arena "when appropriate." Populous was hired to assess the benefits of renovating or replacing Assembly Hall. The trustees decided against renovating the stadium for $115 million because construction of a new arena would cost $130 Million. Construction of the arena has not begun because funding has not been secured. Sources within the IU Athletic Department have said that Louisville's KFC Yum! Center, Maryland's Comcast Center, Wisconsin's Kohl Center and Michigan State's Breslin Student Events Center are being studied as possible blueprints for the Hoosiers' new arena. [4]
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||
|
|||||