Bud Walton Arena (also known as the Basketball Palace of Mid-America) is the home to the men's and women's basketball teams of the University of Arkansas, known as the Razorbacks. It is located on the campus of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas and has a seating capacity of 19,368, which is the fifth largest for an on-campus arena in the United States.
The arena features Bud Walton Arena Razorback Sports Museum on the ground level about the history of Razorback basketball, track and field, baseball, tennis and golf.
Video Bud Walton Arena
Construction
The arena is named after James "Bud" Walton, co-founder of Walmart, who donated a large portion of the funds needed to build the arena. Walton purportedly gave 15 million, or around half of the construction cost. Construction of the arena took only 18 months, a short time considering the size of the undertaking.
When it was built, it was touted as a larger version of Barnhill Arena, the team's former home. In hopes of recreating the formidable home-court advantage the Razorbacks enjoyed at Barnhill, architect Rosser International built an arena that, as it put it, had "more seats in less space than in any other facility of the same type anywhere in the world."
Maps Bud Walton Arena
Early years
The arena has been the home to the Razorbacks since November 1993; the men's team won the national championship in the arena's first season of operation. The basketball team's former home, Barnhill Arena was renovated into a volleyball-specific facility and now houses the Razorback women volleyball team.
In its early years, Nolan Richardson's teams frequently attracted standing-room-only crowds of over 20,000.
Improvements
The past few years have brought a number of enhancements and improvements to the arena. In 2004, a new custom scoreboard was debuted which is 24 feet, three inches wide by 22 feet tall, features four video screens, each 12 feet, six inches wide by eight feet, 10 inches tall. (Also, there is an LED ring at the top that is used to display game statistics.) In 2005, the locker rooms were remodeled, and a lounge and meeting area were added. Prior to the 2008-09 season, the University of Arkansas expanded the arena by eight luxury suites, raising the total to 47. In addition, courtside seating was added, the student section was reconfigured, and press seating was moved to the East side of the arena behind the basket. LED ribbon boards were also installed around the ring between the upper and lower decks and were first used during Arkansas's upset of #4 Oklahoma on December 30, 2008. The addition of these improvements expanded seating to 19,368. Prior to the 2013-14 season, the University of Arkansas, again, reconfigured press seating to the southeast corner of the bottom bowl, reserving its existing place for an expanded student section, commonly referred to as "The Trough."
Statistics of Bud Walton Arena
Attendance Record: 20,320 vs. Kentucky January 26, 1997
Attendance Chart (men) for every year Bud Walton Arena has been in operation
See also
- List of NCAA Division I basketball arenas
References
External links
- Bud Walton Arena - Arkansas Razorbacks
- Google Maps Satellite/Map of Bud Walton Arena
- Bud Walton Arena overview at LadyBacks.com (official site of Arkansas women's athletics)
- FayettevilleTourism.com information on Bud Walton Arena
- RateItAll.com Rating of Bud Walton Arena
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments