James A. Rhodes Arena
"The JAR" | |
Location in OhioLocation in United States | |
Location | 373 Carroll Street Akron, Ohio 44303 |
---|---|
Owner | University of Akron |
Operator | University of Akron |
Capacity | 5,500 |
Surface | Hardwood |
Construction | |
Broke ground | March 8, 1982 |
Opened | December 3, 1983 |
Construction cost | $12.5 million ($36.7 million in 2023 dollars[1]) |
Architect | Thomas T. K. Zung |
Tenants | |
Akron Zips (NCAA) Men's basketball (1983–present) Women's basketball (1983–present) Women's volleyball (1984–present) |
James A. Rhodes Arena, nicknamed "The JAR", is an arena in Akron, Ohio, United States, on the campus of the University of Akron. Named for former Ohio governor Jim Rhodes, the arena opened in 1983 and is home to the Akron Zips men's and women's basketball teams and women's volleyball team. It was built next to and replaced the university's 3,000-seat Memorial Hall.
History
The new facility was six years in the making. In 1977, the Ohio General Assembly appropriated $8 million to build a 10,000-seat building over the next two years. But by October 1978, when preliminary plans for the new complex were presented and accepted by the Ohio Board of Regents, the cost of construction had risen to $12.5 million.[2] So the University scrapped the original design in favor of a scaled-down version: a 125,538-square-foot (11,662.9 m2) building, including an 18,000-square-foot (1,700 m2) wood floor, designed by architect Thomas T. K. Zung. The University Board of Trustees approved the new version in July 1981, and ground was broken on March 8, 1982.
The building opened on December 3, 1983. The building sits on the eastern edge of campus, on the northeast corner of Union and Carroll streets, on a site that once served Fire Station No. 5 and a parking lot.[2]
The JAR hosted the Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament in 1986.
In 2002, renovations included a new hardwood floor, four
During the early 2000s, when
The decision to name the arena after former governor Rhodes was highly controversial; he ordered the
See also
References
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ a b "JAR Arena". Archived from the original on 2007-02-17. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
- ^ a b http://www.gozips.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10800&KEY=&ATCLID=319729[permanent dead link]
- ^ ESPN.com: NCB - Zips try to retake Akron from LeBron