Jersey Mike's Arena
The RAC The Trapezoid of Terror | |
New Jersey Nets (NBA ) (1977–1981) |
Jersey Mike's Arena, commonly known as the RAC (an initialism for Rutgers Athletic Center, its former official name), is an 8,000-seat multi-purpose
History
The arena opened on November 30, 1977, with a win against rival Seton Hall.
The arena was known as the Rutgers Athletic Center until 1986, when it was renamed for Louis Brown, a Rutgers graduate and former member of the varsity golf team, who made a large bequest to the university in his will. Despite the name change, the building was still largely referred to as "The RAC" (pronounced "rack") by students, alumni, fans, and players.
In 2019, all references to Louis Brown were removed from the arena and all university websites, which resumed using the arena's original name, "The Rutgers Athletic Center."
Reputation
The RAC is renowned for being one of the loudest arenas in college basketball when at maximum capacity. The trapezoidal design of the building allows the crowd noise to resonate, creating a deafening environment. The RAC has even been described as being "louder than a 747 at Newark Airport."[4]
ESPN's Jay Bilas has lauded the RAC, saying, "The Scarlet Knights play great there, and the crowd is right on top of you and intimidating."[4]
Former opponents have also extolled the RAC's atmosphere. Former Connecticut Guard
Former Syracuse forward Hakim Warrick notes that "they (the fans) are definitely some of the best fans on the road that I’ve played against. It's crazy how much they love their team. The way the gym is made, it's just made to keep the noise in. It's loud and crazy down there."[4]
Non-Rutgers sporting events
The arena was the home of the
Non-sporting events
Concerts
The Grateful Dead played at the Rutgers Athletic Center on May 15, 1981. Styx brought their Grand Illusion to the RAC on October 24, 1979. Linda Ronstadt also played here on her "Living in the USA" tour and sang with a terrible sore throat. Also, Linda Ronstadt played the RAC on April 11, 1980, for her "Mad Love" tour, and on October 22, 1987, R.E.M. played the RAC with 10,000 Maniacs opening. On April 25, 1980, Frank Zappa played a show at the RAC.
The arena was used on Friday, April 27, 2007, for Rutgersfest, an annual concert normally held outdoors, but held in the RAC that time due to rain. The performers were The Roots, Hawthorne Heights, and Everclear. Due to lack of seating, only 5,000 tickets were given out, angering the 15,000 or so (est.) other students who were then unable to attend.[6]
May 3, 2008, The RAC hosted SpringBlaze 2008, a concert featuring Christian rock bands with a special appearance by Rutgers Football Head Coach Greg Schiano.
Other events
On December 2, 1983, a local nonprofit, Visions-Innervisions Productions, hosted a fundraiser for Headstart and other community services at the RAC beginning with the annual university Step-Show, viewing the debut of Michael Jackson's Thriller on 20' screens, one above each hoop, followed by Motown's D-Train, live.
The arena is used every June as a graduation hall for
Starting in 2014, Rutgers University Dance Marathon is held at the RAC, having moved from the College Avenue Gym.[7]
Possible expansion
In 2010, the Newark, New Jersey-based
When the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten Conference in 2014, the RAC was the smallest arena in conference, with slightly fewer seats than the 8,117 that Northwestern's Welsh–Ryan Arena sat at the time. However, after the renovations of Welsh-Ryan during the 2017–18 season, in which the listed capacity was decreased, Welsh-Ryan Arena is now smaller, making the RAC the second-smallest arena in the conference.[9] The other twelve Big Ten schools' arenas all seat at least 12,500.
See also
References
- ^ Politi, Steve (February 11, 2020). "Why is the Rutgers Athletic Center shaped like a trapezoid? An investigation ... | Politi". nj.com. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
- ^ "Rutgers Athletic Center (RAC) - Home of Rutgers Basketball". Rutgers University Athletics Facilities. Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
- ^ "Jersey Mike's Subs signs multi-million dollar contract for naming rights to Rutgers Athletic Center".
- ^ a b c d "Louis Brown Athletic Center". The Official Site of Rutgers Athletics. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2009.
- ^ "NETS: New Jersey Nets History". New Jersey Nets. Archived from the original on August 19, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2009.
- ^ Huang, Michael (April 26, 2007). "Rutgersfest held indoors due to rain". The Daily Targum. New Brunswick, NJ. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved May 11, 2009.
- ^ "Rutgers Dance Marathon". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 2022-02-26.
- ^ Luicci, Tom (January 4, 2010). "Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti reveals plans for major overhaul of Rutgers Athletic Center". The Star-Ledger. Newark. Retrieved May 11, 2009.
- ^ Greenstein, Teddy (13 June 2016). "Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena to receive long-overdue overhaul". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 20 May 2017.