United Spirit Arena

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United Spirit Arena
Entertainment Showcase of West Texas

Location	1701 Indiana Avenue Lubbock, TX 79409
Broke ground	March 26, 1997^[1]
Opened	October 1, 1999^[2]
Owner	Texas Tech University
Operator	Texas Tech University
Surface	Hardwood
Construction cost	$62.775 million^[2] ($88 million in 2014 dollars^{[ 1]})
Architect	Rosser International Joe D. Mckay AIA Architects
Project manager	Hill International^[3]
General contractor	Centex Construction Co.^[4]
Capacity	15,098 (2001-present) 15,050 (1999-2001)
Tenants
Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball (1999–present) Texas Tech Lady Raiders basketball (1999–present) Texas Tech Red Raiders women's volleyball (1999–present)

United Spirit Arena is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. The 15,098-seat arena opened in 1999 and is home to the Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball, Texas Tech Lady Raiders basketball and Texas Tech Red Raiders women's volleyball teams. United Supermarkets, a Lubbock based supermarket chain with numerous stores in West Texas and North Texas, was a major financial contributor and was granted naming rights to the building. Prior to the building of the arena, the teams played in the nearby City Bank Coliseum. Recently, the United Spirit Arena was host of the first and second rounds of the 2013 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament.

The arena was financed from a $500 million fundraising endeavor undertaken by John T. Montford, the first chancellor of the Texas Tech University System.^[5]

Notable events

United Spirit Arena at night

The first basketball game was played in the arena on November 19, 1999. Texas Tech Red Raiders lost 68–60 to the Indiana Hoosiers,^[6] whose legendary coach Bob Knight would later become the head coach of Red Raiders basketball team.
Elton John's performance on February 8, 2000 was the first concert to be held at United Spirit Arena.
In the summer of 2002, Britney Spears brought her Dream Within a Dream Tour to the arena. After the second song, "(You Drive Me) Crazy", a power outage occurred and the rest of the concert had to be canceled. Spears, along with her tour manager, came onstage to explain the situation to the sold out crowd. Due to Spears being overbooked for the entire tour, there was no time to reschedule the concert.^[7]
United Spirit Arena hosted WWE RAW (the first RAW ever to be hosted in Lubbock) in May 2006.
On January 1, 2007, a 70–68 defeat of the New Mexico Lobos by the Texas Tech Red Raiders marked the 880th total win for Bob Knight, making him the winningest coach in men's college basketball history.
On May 4, 2007, the Houston Comets with former Lady Raiders Sheryl Swoopes and Erin Grant played a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) exhibition game against the Detroit Shock with Plenette Pierson, also a former Lady Raider.^[8]
In 2008, Champions on Ice made its United Spirit Arena debut, having moved over from City Bank Coliseum. At the same time, Cirque du Soleil made its first Lubbock-area appearance.
On October 14, 2011, Taylor Swift made her first ever appearance at the United Spirit Arena with her Speak Now World Tour. Tickets for the show were sold out within twenty minutes after going on sale, the fastest sell-out in United Spirit Arena history.
On January 18, 2013, the United Spirit Arena hosted to first show in the final live tour of George Strait. He was supported by Martina McBride.

References

↑ "Texas Tech Breaking New Ground". Amarillo Globe-News. Associated Press. March 27, 1997. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
↑ 2.0 2.1 Altenbaumer, Kara (October 1, 1999). "A Grand Time on Tap for Unveiling of Spirit Arena". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
↑ "Buildings: Sports Facilities". Hill International. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
↑ Fuquay, John (April 27, 1999). "Tech to Test Integrity of United Spirit Arena Balcony". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
↑ "John T. Montford a Powerhouse at Tech, in Politics". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. January 11, 2009. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
↑ Rosetta, Randy (November 20, 1999). "Despite Falling Short, Red Raiders Pleased". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Archived from the original on February 21, 2006. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
↑ Gilbreth, Kristin (June 21, 2002). "Spears Not Returning Despite Arena Officials Plea". The Daily Toreador (Texas Tech University). Retrieved November 24, 2007.
↑ "Tickets on Sale Now for WNBA Game in Lubbock". Texas Tech Athletics. April 2, 2007. Retrieved April 2, 2007.

External links

Texas Tech University

Academics

Research

Athletics

Teams:	Baseball Red Raider basketball Lady Raider basketball Cross Country Football Golf

Facilities:	City Bank Coliseum Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park Fuller Track John Walker Soccer Complex Jones AT&T Stadium The Rawls Course United Spirit Arena

Coaches:	Tim Tadlock (baseball) Tubby Smith (men's basketball) Candace Whitaker (women's basketball) Jon Murray (cross country) Sonny Cumbie (football assistant) Kliff Kingsbury (football) Greg Sands (men's golf) JoJo Robertson (women's golf) Tom Stone (soccer) Tim Siegel (men's tennis) Todd Petty (women's tennis) Wes Kittley (track and field) Don Flora (volleyball)

Rivalries:	Texas: Chancellor's Spurs Texas A&M: football rivalry

Conferences:	Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association Southwest Conference Big 12 Conference

Media

People

Campus

Landmarks:
- Lubbock Lake Landmark
- Museum of Texas Tech University
- National Ranching Heritage Center
- Public Art Collection
- Riding into the Sunset
- Texas Technological College Historic District
Branches:
Buildings:

Student life

Traditions

Miscellaneous

Texas Tech University Independent School District

v t e Texas Tech Lady Raiders basketball

Overview	Head Coaches Players in the WNBA Draft Seasons

Arenas	Women's Gym Lubbock Municipal Coliseum United Spirit Arena

Seasons	1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13

v t e Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball

Venues	Livestock Judging Pavilion (1925–1927) Tech Gymnasium (1927–1956) Lubbock Municipal Coliseum (1956–1999) United Spirit Arena (1999–present)

Culture & lore	Raider Red The Masked Rider "Fight, Raiders, Fight" "The Matador Song" Guns Up Knight School

People	Head coaches NBA draftees

Seasons	1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14

v t e Basketball arenas of the Big 12 Conference

Ferrell Center (Baylor) Hilton Coliseum (Iowa State) Allen Fieldhouse (Kansas) Bramlage Coliseum (Kansas State) Lloyd Noble Center (Oklahoma) Gallagher-Iba Arena (Oklahoma State) Daniel–Meyer Coliseum (TCU) Frank Erwin Center (Texas) United Spirit Arena (Texas Tech) WVU Coliseum (West Virginia)

v t e Music venues of Texas

Outdoor venues	Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Gexa Energy Pavilion Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Selma Zilker Park

Theaters and clubs	AT&T Performing Arts Center Billy Bob's Texas

Arenas	Frank Erwin Center Toyota Center United Spirit Arena American Airlines Center AT&T Center

Festivals	Austin City Limits Music Festival South by Southwest

Coordinates: 33°34′52.54″N 101°53′11.89″W / 33.5812611°N 101.8866361°W / 33.5812611; -101.8866361

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