Slideshow: 10 Storied College Hoops Venues
In the "Past, Present, Future" department of Preservation magazine’s winter issue, Katharine Keane explored the restoration and modernization of Butler University’s Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Otherwise known as Indiana’s Basketball Cathedral, the venue has hosted Butler University basketball since it was built in 1928. Originally known as Butler Field House, the National Historic Landmark has also hosted six presidents, military recruits during World War II, and was of course the setting for the championship scene of the classic hoops film Hoosiers.
All of this got us thinking about the Hinkle Fieldhouse’s historic counterparts from around the country. Below, you’ll find Hinkle and nine more of the most storied venues in college basketball, each with its own story to tell.
photo by: Brent Smith/Butler University
Hinkle Fieldhouse, on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis, was built in 1928. It recently received a $36 million renovation, ensuring its service to the university's men's and women's basketball teams, and fans of the game, for years to come.
photo by: Ben Smith/Flickr/CC BY NC 2.0
Allen Fieldhouse at the University of Kansas was dedicated in 1955. It is widely recognized as one of the best places in the world to watch a basketball game, and has hosted 37 NCAA tournament matchups.
photo by: Chris Kuga/Flickr/CC BY 2.0
Indiana is a basketball state, and Assembly Hall demonstrates just how hoops-crazed the state is. Though not as old as many of the other arenas on this list (it opened in 1971) the venue has plenty of stories to tell, and has hosted three national championship teams. Assembly Hall is currently undergoing a $40 million renovation.
photo by: Lindsay Hickman/Flickr/CC BY NC ND 2.0
As much as opposing teams hate to admit it, Cameron Inddor Stadium on the campus of Duke University is one of the most fabled places in college hoops. The arena maintains its old-school 1940 character and boasts perhaps the most intense gameday environment in the game. Rumor has it the Gothic structure was conceived on the back of a matchbox in 1935.
photo by: Idlbrl/Flickr/CC BY 2.0
Haas Pavilion at the University of California, Berkeley was originally constructed as Harmon Gymnasium in 1933. Though the arena was heavily renovated in the late '90s, its historic superstructure remains.
photo by: The West End/Flickr/CC BY NC ND 2.0
Now known as Alaska Airlines Arena, Hec Edmundson Pavilion was built in 1927. The structure sits adjacent to picturesque Lake Washington.
photo by: The West End/Flickr/CC BY NC ND 2.0
The 1910 Northeastern University Matthews Arena in Boston lays claim to being the oldest multipurpose sports facility in the world. Today, it still hosts the university's basketball and hockey programs.
photo by: Melody Joy Kramer/Flickr/CC BY NC ND 2.0
Philadelphia is a basketball city, and the Palestra is its greatest ode to the game. Though it sits on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, it has hosted countless games for all of the city's "Big 5" basketball schools. Between the 1927 structure itself, the local talent playing on its floor, and the crazed fanbase, the atmosphere of the Palestra is tough to beat.
photo by: Eric Chan/Flickr/CC BY 2.0
Pauley Pavilion opened at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1965. The venue is also used by the university's volleyball and gymnastics programs.
photo by: The West End/Flickr/CC BY NC ND 2.0
The nine-story Gothic Payne Whitney Gymnasium opened on the Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticut in 1932.
