| USF Sun Dome | |
|---|---|
| Location | Elm Drive Tampa, FL 33620 |
| Broke ground | 1977 |
| Opened | November 29, 1980 |
| Owner | University of South Florida |
| Operator | Sun Dome Inc. |
| Surface | QuickLock Portable Floor (northern hard maple) |
| Construction cost | $12 million |
| Architect | Barger + Dean Architects, Inc. Populous (renovation) |
| Capacity | 10,411 |
| Tenants | |
| South Florida Bulls (Basketball & volleyball) |
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The USF Sun Dome (also known as the USF Arena & Convocation Center) is a 55,000-square-foot (5,100 m2) multi-purpose facility, on the campus of the University of South Florida, in Tampa, Florida. It was built, starting in 1977 and was completed on November 29, 1980.
It is located on the southeastern side of campus, and is home to the men's and women's basketball and volleyball teams.
The Sun Dome is a multi-purpose facility, hosting approximately 300 different events each year, including sporting events, concerts, home and garden shows, trade shows, religious services and conventions, ethnic festivals, rodeos, bull riding competitions, youth sports camps, wrestling, boxing, Taekwondo tournaments, gymnastics and cheerleading competitions, commencement ceremonies, lectures and political rallies among other corporate, community and university events.
It also held live events by WWE, such as Saturday Night's Main Event in December 1985, and the 1995 Royal Rumble. The UFC also made their debut in the arena in February 2009 with UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs Stephens.
The Sun Dome was one of the few arenas in the United States to be created with an inflated roof. Airlocks kept the interior pressurized and the roof up. This system was replaced in 2000 with a 90,000-square-foot (8,400 m2) Teflon coated roof supported by a futuristic steel space frame that peaks 115 feet (35 m) above the arena floor. State of the art video screens were added in time for the USF Men's Basketball Team's 2005-2006 season.
On June 8, 2011, the USF Board of Trustees approved a renovation of $35.6 million to the Sun Dome. The renovation plans include a reconfiguration of seating, adding a center hung scoreboard, adding a concourse level with concessions and restrooms, and restoration to the existing exterior concrete. The project is to begin immediately and should be completed by April 2012. Both the men's and women's basketball programs will play at other venues in the Tampa Bay area for the 2011-2012 seasons, as well as commencement ceremonies.[1][2]
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