Wharton Field House
Wharton Field House is an arena located at 1800 20th Avenue in Moline, Illinois. The arena holds 6,000 people and was built in 1928. It is adjacent to Browning Field.
Wharton Fieldhouse was home to the NBA's Tri-Cities Blackhawks[1] from 1946 until they left for Milwaukee in 1951. The franchise started in 1946 as the Buffalo Bisons before relocating to the Tri-Cities after only 13 games. The franchise later moved to Milwaukee (1951), St. Louis (1955) and eventually Atlanta (1968), becoming the Atlanta Hawks. [2] Legendary Hall of Fame Coach Red Auerbach was Head Coach for the Blackhawks in 1949-50, before accepting the same position in 1950 with the Boston Celtics. In Boston, Auerbach eventually coached the team to nine NBA titles, before serving as general manager and drafting Larry Bird. [3]
Wharton later served as home to the Quad City Thunder of the Continental Basketball Association from 1987 until 1993 when the team moved its home games to the MARK of the Quad Cities (now known as the i wireless Center). In 2004, USA Today named it one of the top places to watch high school basketball.[4]
It is the current and longtime home of the Moline Maroons basketball teams. Moline competes in the Western Big 6 Conference. The high school also continues to hold its graduation there.[5]
| Basketball | Volleyball | Graduation Day |
|---|---|---|
| 7,250 | 6,075 | 7,300 |
References
| Preceded by first arena |
Home of the Tri-Cities Blackhawks 1946 – 1951 |
Succeeded by Milwaukee Arena |
Coordinates: 41°29′31″N 90°30′38″W / 41.4918315°N 90.5106068°W