# Top Arenas in college basketball



## kansasalumn (Jun 9, 2002)

We have this topic every summer offseason, so lets talk about it even more shall we.

My list are arenas that are purely college only, no arenas that share with NBA or NHL teams. Sorry St John;s as they they play in MSG, and Mempis that plays in the Prymaid with the Grizzles (do they still?). And no domes sorry Carrier and Dean as my list is arenas only

1-Cameron Indoor Stadium. I hate DUke with a passion, but have the students around the whole court makes the arena number 1 for me. 
2-Allen Field House. 16300 every night, every night no matter who KU plays. Get loud even by the old rich people in the stands. ANd so on
3-Gallagher-Iba. Old school barn, gets very loud and tough to play at
4-Rupp Arena. 
5-Williams Arena at Minnesota, old school barn as well and ahving the could elevated is great
6-Palesta. COme on one of the greatest and in middle of Philadelphia college hoops mecca


Those are my top 6.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

I like that little HS gym that Butler plays in


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## BlueBaron (May 11, 2003)

Do I even need to respond? 

Rupp Arena- A sold out arena of 23,000 Big Blue Faithful foaming at the mouth for UK basketball any and every night that UK has a home game. They even sellout Big Blue Madness in no time flat.


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## Enigma (Jul 16, 2002)

Maybe not one of the biggest or the best, but this seems like a perfect thread for pimping UCF:








A new arena will be open in time for next season.



Current progess, as of about 6 weeks ago:








Click here for the full-size pic. It's very big though.


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## kansasalumn (Jun 9, 2002)

BlueBaron said:


> Do I even need to respond?
> 
> Rupp Arena- A sold out arena of 23,000 Big Blue Faithful foaming at the mouth for UK basketball any and every night that UK has a home game. They even sellout Big Blue Madness in no time flat.


The thing is for our Late night at teh Phog, we don't even sell tickets, first come first in,. Doors open at 5pm, doors close by 7pm, standing area as well.


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## Nimreitz (May 13, 2003)

Worst arena: The Kohl Center. With the smallest designated student section in the Big Ten shoved off into the corner. We could be as tough as Cameron or Assembly Illinois, but nope.


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## TM (Jun 30, 2003)

kansasalumn said:


> The thing is for our Late night at teh Phog, we don't even sell tickets, first come first in,. Doors open at 5pm, doors close by 7pm, standing area as well.


cause UK is cheap


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## BlueBaron (May 11, 2003)

UK doesn't sell tickets either. First come, first serve.


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## HB (May 1, 2004)

Its gotta be Rupp as number one


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## Kuskid (Aug 18, 2004)

Blatant homer pick - the Carrier Dome's always a hell of a place to watch a game. 26,000+ for an NIT game, on campus record of 33 and some change a couple years ago. When that place gets going it really is unbelievable.


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## TucsonClip (Sep 2, 2002)

I'll nominate the Galen Center (USC) and John Paul Jones Arena (Virginia), those places are amazing.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

I'll like the John Paul Jones Center a little better if Sean Singletary stays in the draft


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## TM (Jun 30, 2003)

HB said:


> Its gotta be Rupp as number one


As for domes... Carrier, hands down. No one even comes close.


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## BlueBaron (May 11, 2003)

TM said:


> As for domes... Carrier, hands down. No one even comes close.


You have to throw "Domes" in there don't ya? :wait:


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## Fac1 (Jun 13, 2007)

Cameron Indoor, Allen Fieldhouse, and Gallagher-Iba are the no-brainer picks.


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## kansasalumn (Jun 9, 2002)

BlueBaron said:


> UK doesn't sell tickets either. First come, first serve.


it sounded like when you wrote words down they sell tix, sorry.


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## kansasalumn (Jun 9, 2002)

For me it sounds like everyone on the thread, their fav of arenas are in their living area or conference.


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## BlueBaron (May 11, 2003)

Thompson Boling is a great place to watch a game (if your a Vol fan :sour now that Pearl is the coach.


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## Smithian (Apr 3, 2006)

As far as the Arena and not tradition and history, Bud Walton Arena cannot be matched. More seats than any other Arena its size in the world at about 20,000.

It also houses every facility that the team needs, including study areas, lockerrooms, trainer rooms, locker rooms, player and coach lounges, and coaching office and film rooms. Very few arenas in the country have all that at such a high quality.

It also only houses basketball and Wal-Mart share holder meetings. Most arenas in the country must accomadate graduation, school meetings, donor meeting, etc.

Plus, along with this, during the Nolan Richardson era, it was viewed as one of the loudest arenas in the country and also has a national championship team in its relatively short history.

Bud Walton is one of the reason a lot of big time coaches such as Calipari and Bill Self gave Arkansas than a glancing look this off-season.


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## kansasalumn (Jun 9, 2002)

Smithian said:


> Bud Walton is one of the reason a lot of big time coaches such as Calipari and Bill Self gave Arkansas than a glancing look this off-season.


Very doubt Bill Self even considered Arkansas this past off season.


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## kansasalumn (Jun 9, 2002)

Smithian said:


> It also houses every facility that the team needs, including study areas, lockerrooms, trainer rooms, locker rooms, player and coach lounges, and coaching office and film rooms. Very few arenas in the country have all that at such a high quality.


Uhh most top notch arenas has these accomdations as in the Arena area or as annex building right next to the arena. At Kansas, thhere are those accomdations at AFH, in an annex type building that is connected to AFH.


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## Marcus13 (Jul 17, 2002)




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## Rids (Dec 5, 2006)

Smithian said:


> As far as the Arena and not tradition and history, Bud Walton Arena cannot be matched. More seats than any other Arena its size in the world at about 20,000.


More seats per sq. ft.??? Because 20,000 is not the biggest arena in the world by any stretch.


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## bingbearcats (Aug 30, 2006)

What about Vanderbilt's place? I dont know much about their fan support but the building is very unique with the benches on the end of the court and the court above the floor.


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## Smithian (Apr 3, 2006)

kansasalumn said:


> Very doubt Bill Self even considered Arkansas this past off season.


Arkansas did contact him and by all accounts he listened to our offer and thought it over before politely declining. Every coach in the country knew this job is a possible super power. A big reason we couldn't get the top coaches on our list like Calipari and Bill Self is they are both returning possible NC teams.



Rids said:


> More seats per sq. ft.??? Because 20,000 is not the biggest arena in the world by any stretch.


You're right. I meant by actual arena size. It is marketed as having more seats in a smaller place than any other arena in the world. Big part why it gets very loud.


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## ghoti (Jan 30, 2005)

bingbearcats said:


> What about Vanderbilt's place? I dont know much about their fan support but the building is very unique with the benches on the end of the court and the court above the floor.


I opened this thread to post that.

That place is strange and unique.


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## TM (Jun 30, 2003)

benches at the end of the court are retarded and must drive coaches crazy


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## kansasalumn (Jun 9, 2002)

ghoti said:


> I opened this thread to post that.
> 
> That place is strange and unique.


what do you meanyou openedthe thread. Istarted the thread


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## ghoti (Jan 30, 2005)

kansasalumn said:


> what do you meanyou openedthe thread. Istarted the thread


I meant I clicked on it and opened it with the intention of posting that Vanderbilt had a weird court.


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## BlueBaron (May 11, 2003)

I never liked Vandy's court. While it is unique, it is rather stupid at the same time.


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## DWest Superstar (Jun 30, 2005)

homer pick but the Reilly Center of St. Bonavenutre is one of the toughest places to play in all of college basketball

What about the RAC of Rutgers that place is sweet


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## Bubbles (Nov 12, 2005)

Kohl Center, look at the Badgers win percentage there since Bo Ryan has been there.


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## BallStateCards (Oct 14, 2004)

Hinkle Fieldhouse is neat for the history, but it's all that great. It's pretty ghetto nowadays, from the locker rooms to the actual arena. I mean, its a landmark steeped in history, but some updates would be much appreciated.

Cox Arena in San Diego kicks ***. The home locker room is insane, and the arena itself is just a very nice place to play. Not to mention the fact that they dropped the arena in the middle of the old football stadium. If you enter through the loading docks, it's just a crazy experience. You got football stands going up both sides of the field until you get the arena. Its nuts.

These don't show much, but give an idea...

















Western Michigan has the best football facility, and the absolute worst basketball facility (when it comes to the MAC). They have 137 ads in the place (real count). The banners for titles and whatnot actually block vision of the scoreboard in several places. They set up a cubby hole for camera purposes on one corner...it's too small for a camera to fit in. Idiots.

Check the scoreboard...









Central Michigan's sucks too.

I forgot about this, but NIU's got some nice hi-tech stuff going for it, and they get national acts (Ludacris, Bob Dylan, John Mayer) to do shows there...


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## kansasalumn (Jun 9, 2002)

SI ranks Cameron #2 and AllenFieldHouse #10 is teh Collge Top Sport Venues


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## Blue (Jun 21, 2007)

What about the O'Dome............?? You know Florida's gotta be there.......Home of the 06'-07' national champs!!!!!






















> ESPN The Magazine nicknamed it the "House of Horrors" in 1999, a name that the sports teams began using promotionally a few years later. The student section of the stadium has been dubbed the "Rowdy Reptiles". ESPN commentator Dick Vitale said, on assignment at the Florida vs. Kentucky game in 2006, that the Rowdy Reptiles make the O-Dome one of the toughest places to play in college basketball.
> 
> Following the men's basketball team's victory in the national title game of the 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, the UF athletic department bought the temporary hardwood floor that had been installed in the Indianapolis RCA Dome for the Final Four. Although the national finals logos will be removed by sanding, the basketball teams will now play on the same lumber on which the Gators won their first basketball National Championship. The Gators also bought the court used to win their second title from the Georgia Dome, and displayed it in the O'Connell Center during their championship celebration event, but will sell it afterwards in pieces to raise funds for scholarships [1].
> 
> ...


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## SoCalfan21 (Jul 19, 2004)

All State Arena....Home of the DePaul Blue Demons :clap:


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## Nimreitz (May 13, 2003)

Quite Frankly said:


> Kohl Center, look at the Badgers win percentage there since Bo Ryan has been there.


Take it from a student who got screwed out of tickets because of the minuscule student section more than once, the Kohl Center is nice, but it could be sooooo much better. It's about a thousand times better for hockey games.


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## TucsonClip (Sep 2, 2002)

Anserons arena at Bowling Green is by far the worst arena in the MAC.


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## BallStateCards (Oct 14, 2004)

Central's is worse than that, but at lease both arenas give a view of the scoreboard...










But that's not a good shot of it...You have to be there in person to enjoy it's suckiness. I got a funny story about it though. So I walk up to their TV guy to talk about getting one of their copies of the game (as they're broadcasting it...

Me: "Alright then, can you get me a TV copy of the game?"
Dude: "Shouldn't be an issue...what format?
Me: "Well, DVD is preferable, but-"
Dude: No. What format, VHS or Beta?

True story.


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## TM (Jun 30, 2003)

:laugh:

how many does that hold, like 2,000?


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## Fac1 (Jun 13, 2007)

Here's a nice pic of Syracuse's Carrier Dome.


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## BallStateCards (Oct 14, 2004)

TM said:


> :laugh:
> 
> how many does that hold, like 2,000?


I think it's listed at 7 or 8, but they pull back the bleachers on one whole side for their "VIP Tent" and concession stand...


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## Nimreitz (May 13, 2003)

Fac1 said:


> Here's a nice pic of Syracuse's Carrier Dome.


You aren't getting another Melo, so that isn't an accurate picture.


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## Marcus13 (Jul 17, 2002)

BallStateCards said:


> I forgot about this, but NIU's got some nice hi-tech stuff going for it, and they get national acts (Ludacris, Bob Dylan, John Mayer) to do shows there...


Luda came to my EMU too


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## BallStateCards (Oct 14, 2004)

Marcus13 said:


> Luda came to my EMU too


Actually EMU has a pretty nice arena, but since it's somewhat disconnected from campus (NIU suffers this too) and the team is usually lackluster, hardly anyone shows up. I imagine UM being right there is a pain too...


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## Cycloneandy (Dec 16, 2003)

Hilton in Ames, Iowa is going to get a 100 million dollar make over. It's already considered one of the toughest places to play.

I would also say GIA for Oky State. It's a rough one to play at. 

Kentucky, Kansas, Duke, and the rest of the big boys need to realize it's not there place that is hard to play at. It's the players that are recruited there that are hard to beat. 

Anyone arena can look succesful if you have the best players playing in that arena.


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## TM (Jun 30, 2003)

Cycloneandy said:


> Hilton in Ames, Iowa is going to get a 100 million dollar make over. It's already considered one of the toughest places to play.


hmm... the rest of the Big 12 doesn't seem to have too tough of a time playin there.


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## Nimreitz (May 13, 2003)

Cycloneandy said:


> Hilton in Ames, Iowa is going to get a 100 million dollar make over. It's already considered one of the toughest places to play.
> 
> I would also say GIA for Oky State. It's a rough one to play at.
> 
> ...


Iowans are too friendly to create a hostile environment, especially the corn fed true Iowans in Ames, not the Chicago, Milwaukee, and Cities group that makes up the University of Iowa. I hear that if you run the Cyclones off the floor, the Iowa State fans sound their appreciation for your great basketball. That's not hostile.


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## PacersguyUSA (Sep 1, 2002)

I love the way the seats are set up at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, IN.


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## BallStateCards (Oct 14, 2004)

PacersguyUSA said:


> I love the way the seats are set up at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, IN.


Wow, that's quite the unpopular opinion...even most IU fans hate the way Assembly Hall is set up,,,


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