Lute & Bobbi Olson Court | |
.jpg) View from southwest in 2019 | |
  McKale Center Location in Arizona Show map of Arizona McKale Center Location in the United States Show map of the United States | |
| Full name | McKale Memorial Center |
|---|---|
| Location | 1 National Championship Dr. Tucson, Arizona, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 32°14′N110°57′W / 32.23°N 110.95°W /32.23; -110.95 |
| Owner | University of Arizona |
| Operator | University of Arizona |
| Capacity | 14,688 (2015–present)[1] |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | November 1970 |
| Opened | February 1, 1973 52 years ago |
| Construction cost | $8,145,077 ($57.7 million in 2024[2]) |
| Architect | Place and Place, Inc. |
| General contractor | Sundt Construction, Inc.[3] |
| Tenants | |
| Arizona Wildcats (NCAA) (1973–present) | |
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McKale Memorial Center is an athleticarena in thesouthwestUnited States, located on the campus of theUniversity of Arizona inTucson, Arizona. As the home of the university'sWildcats basketball team of theBig 12 Conference, it is primarily used forbasketball, but also has physical training and therapy facilities. Its construction is marked with a largecopper cap that has oxidized brown.
In the 1960s, it was recognized that the Wildcats' basketball venue,Bear Down Gymnasium, was outdated and in need of replacement. Major planning for the new facility began in 1966.[4] During construction, the Wildcats briefly considered playing some of its 1971–72 home schedule in the then-newly completed 8,000-seat arena at theTucson Convention Center,[5] but eventually declined, remaining in Bear Down Gym until the new venue was ready. The new arena officially opened in February 1973[6] and has an officialcapacity of 14,688 spectators.[7] Theelevation at street level is approximately 2,450 feet (750 m) abovesea level.
The McKale Center was named in honor ofJ.F. "Pop" McKale, a major athletic figure at U of A from 1914 to 1957. At one time, he was head coach of all of the school's athletic teams. He was head basketball coach from 1914 to 1921, where he achieved a49–12 (.803) record. He led thefootball team from 1914 to 1930, with an80–32–6 (.703) record. It was McKale's first team that resulted in Arizona's teams being nicknamed "Wildcats." In 1914, Arizona's name meant very little in the college football world. Although they lost toOccidental College inLos Angeles14–0, a reporter for theLos Angeles Times was so impressed with Arizona's effort that he wrote, "The Arizona men showed the fight of wild cats ..." Soon afterward, Arizona's student-athletes were nicknamed the Wildcats.[8]
Following a win overrivalArizona State on February 26, 2000, the university athletic department honored longtime head coachLute Olson with a ceremony to name the McKale Center playing surface "Lute Olson Court."[9] Less than a year later,[10] during a memorial service in January 2001 for Olson's wife, Bobbi, it was renamed, "Lute and Bobbi Olson Court" in recognition of the couple's impact on the university and the city of Tucson.[11]
In 2002, the Eddie Lynch Athletics Pavilion, a state-of-the-art medical and strength/conditioning facility for Wildcat student athletes, was completed and opened. The pavilion (which cost $14 million) was a 36,000-square-foot (3,300 m2) addition to the north end of McKale Center. The upper level has a 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) museum-like display area, open to the public, showcasing the history of Arizona Wildcat athletics.[12]
The university's spring and winter commencement ceremonies were held at McKale Center from 1973 until 2012; the 2013 ceremonies returned toArizona Stadium after an absence of thirty years.
In December 2012, the university athletic department was given approval by the Arizona Board of Regents to select an architect to renovate the arena. "The hope is to get it to be where it's one concourse enclosed that you can walk around and have the restrooms and concessions and everything tied to it," said athletic directorGreg Byrne.[13] The renovation would also include a club area, luxury seating, and more room for the athletics offices that occupy the McKale Center.
The Arizona Athletic Department ultimately decided onAECOM to plan and design the renovation. The project will be completed in several phases from 2014 to 2017 at a cost of $80 million. McKale Center will remain open during the construction process, with a majority of the work done outside of basketball season. The first phase of the renovation includes a brand newHD video scoreboard which was completed at the end of December 2013. Other parts of the first phase also included new seating, a new floor, an improved locker room area and expanded restrooms and concessions. The first phase was completed in November 2014.
Source:[14]
+ record reflects 35 vacated victories during 2007–08, 2016–17 & 2017–18 season due to NCAA infractions
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