| Crisler Center | |
|---|---|
| "The House that Cazzie Built" | |
| Former names | Crisler Arena (1967-2011) |
| Location | 333 E Stadium Blvd Ann Arbor, MI 48104 |
| Broke ground | 1965 |
| Opened | December 6, 1967 |
| Renovated | 1998, 2001, 2011[1] |
| Owner | University of Michigan |
| Operator | University of Michigan |
| Construction cost | $7.2 million |
| Architect | Dan Dworsky, '50 |
| Capacity | 13,684 (1967) 13,609 (1968-1991) 13,562 (1991-2001) 13,751 (2001-2011) 12,721 (2011-present)[2] |
| Tenants | |
|
Michigan Wolverines Men's Basketball (NCAA) (1967-present) Michigan Wolverines Women's Basketball (NCAA) (1974-present) Michigan Wolverines Women's Gymnastics (NCAA) (2004-present) Former tenants (Men's Gymnastics (1978–1989) and Wrestling (1967–1989)) |
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Crisler Center, (Formerly known as Crisler Arena) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, is the home arena for the University of Michigan men's and women's basketball teams as well as the women's gymnastics team.[2] Constructed in 1967, the arena seats 12,721 spectators. It is named for Herbert O. "Fritz" Crisler, head football coach at Michigan from 1938 to 1947 and athletic director thereafter until his retirement in 1968.
The arena is often called "The House that Cazzie Built," a reference to legendary player Cazzie Russell who starred on Michigan teams that won three consecutive Big Ten Conference titles from 1964 to 1966. Russell's popularity caused the team's fanbase to outgrow Yost Fieldhouse (now Yost Ice Arena) and prompted the construction of the current facility.
At Michigan men's basketball games, the recently-added bleacher seats behind the benches are home to the Maize Rage student section.
Despite being on a Big Ten Conference campus, the facility hosted the 1980–1982 Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament. It has also hosted Big Ten and NCAA gymnastics championships, the 1999 Big Ten wrestling championship, and other events. Prior to the opening of Cliff Keen Arena, the arena was the full-time home to the men's and women's gymnastics teams and the wrestling team. As of 2007, women's gymnastics continues to hold significant meets in the arena.[3]
The arena has also hosted concerts, perhaps most famously, the opening show of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's The River Tour, in which Springsteen began the show by completely forgetting the words to "Born to Run", but was rescued by the Michigan audience.
Crisler Center was also the site of the famous "ten-for-two" John Sinclair Freedom Rally, featuring John Lennon & Yoko Ono in 1971.
Crisler Center was designed by Dan Dworsky (B'Arch. 1950), a member of the 1948 Rose Bowl team. Among other structures that he has designed is the Federal Reserve Bank of Los Angeles.
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