O'Connell Center
"The O'Dome" | |
Location | 250 Gale Lemerand Drive Gainesville, Florida 32611 |
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Coordinates | 29°38′58″N 82°21′04″W / 29.64944°N 82.35111°W |
Owner | University of Florida |
Operator | University of Florida |
Capacity | 10,500 (2016–present)[1] 12,050 (1980–2016)[2] |
Record attendance | 12,633 (all-time) 11,255 (post-renovation) |
Surface | Multi-surface |
Construction | |
Broke ground | October 1977 |
Opened | December 30, 1980 |
Renovated | 1998, 2016 |
Construction cost | $15.6 million ($57.7 million in 2023 dollars[3]) |
Architect | Caudill Rowlett Scott[4] Moore, May & Harrington[5] |
Structural engineer | Geiger–Berger Associates[6] |
General contractor | Dyson and Company, Inc.[5] Brasfield & Gorrie (2016) |
Tenants | |
Florida Gators men's basketball Florida Gators women's basketball Florida Gators women's gymnastics Florida Gators swimming and diving Florida Gators women's volleyball |
The Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, also known as the O'Dome, is a 10,500-seat
The entire facility was known as the O'Connell Center from 1980 until 2016. The building underwent a major $64.5 million renovation / reconstruction during that year, and Exactech, a Gainesville medical firm, signed a $5.9 million, 10-year naming rights deal for the main arena, which was officially renamed the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.[7][8]
Florida Gators home arena
The Exactech Arena, which is owned by the University of Florida, is the home arena of several of the university's Florida Gators intercollegiate sports teams, including the men's and women's college basketball, gymnastics, swimming and diving, and volleyball teams.[9]
The facility was quickly dubbed the "O'Dome" by students, a nickname that is still in use. 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, on assignment at the Florida-Kentucky game in 2006, said that the Rowdy Reptiles make the O'Dome one of the toughest places to play in college basketball.
On December 23, 2006, a then-record crowd of 12,621 watched the fifth-ranked Gators men's basketball team defeat the third-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, 86–60. The two teams would meet again that season for the National Championship game, with the Gators, once again, emerging victorious as the first back-to-back National Champions since Duke in the early 1990s. This attendance record was broken, however, on February 5, 2011, in a 70–68 Gator victory over the 11th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats, as 12,633 attended the game.[10] Following the 2016 renovation, on February 19, 2022, the Gators defeated the 2nd-ranked Auburn Tigers in front of a crowd of 11,255, which currently stands as the largest attendance in the arena post-renovation.[11]
Other uses
In addition to sports, the O'Connell Center regularly hosts many other events on campus. It is the largest concert venue in
Event Capacities
Concerts:
Full House: 7,000
In the Round: 10,500
Speaking Engagements:
Half House (standard set): 2,500-3,500
Full House: 6,000-7,000
Athletics:
Men's Basketball: 10,136
Women's Basketball: 10,136
Volleyball: 10,136
Gymnastics: 9,251
Banquets:
Up to 1,200
Trade Shows:
Service Level: 110 (8 ft X 10 ft booths)
Concourse Level (non-Arena): 140 (8 ft X 10 ft booths)
Total Exhibition Booths: 250 [1]
History
Alligator Alley
Before the O'Connell Center, the University of Florida's basketball teams and other indoor sports programs used the on-campus Florida Gymnasium, which was nicknamed Alligator Alley. The Florida Gym was built in 1949, and it was considered a difficult venue for opponents because the seating was very close to the court and, when full, the noise level was "deafening". However, it was also small, had very few amenities and had no air conditioning. It was compared to a "dismal and dreary" high school gym by observers.[12] By the early 1970s, Florida was the only school in the Southeastern Conference without a modern basketball facility, a factor that affected the recruiting of top players and held back the growth of its long-mediocre basketball program.[13][14]
UF / USF collaboration
In 1975, the University of Florida Athletic Association decided to seek funds to build a new facility for UF's indoor sports programs.[15] The University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa had also decided to build a large indoor arena at about the same time, so the schools agreed to commission a common architectural design to stretch limited state funding. As originally constructed, USF's Sun Dome (now known as the Yuengling Center) and UF's O'Connell Center featured almost identical inflatable roof systems and main arenas. The primary difference was that the O'Connell Center included training areas and facilities for other sports around the main arena while USF added these facilities to the Sun Dome in a later expansion.[16]
The $15.6 million O'Connell Center broke ground in October 1977 in a parking lot across the street from
The first event at the Stephen C. O'Connell Student Activities Center (as it was originally known) was a Florida men's basketball game held on December 30, 1980.[13] It was officially dedicated a few weeks later in January 1981.
Effect on basketball program
The new arena had an immediate positive effect on Florida's men's basketball program, and its first recruit was former coach
Design and renovations
The O'Connell Center was envisioned as a competition and practice facility for most of the university's indoor sports programs, and this has been the case throughout its existence. The large (292,000 square feet (27,100 m2)) Exactech Arena is the core of the building, and is surrounded by a basketball practice court, a
Original roof
When it first opened, the O'Connell Center had an inflatable
Minor renovations
After the 1998 redesign of the roof, the facility underwent a smaller renovation in 2006, when the university updated some of the fold-able seating and replaced the four scoreboards located above Gates 1 through 4 in each corner of the arena. The old
2016 rebuild
In March 2016, the O'Connell Center began its most extensive renovation to date with a $64.5 million project that reconstructed the main arena with significant changes to its layout and design. Led by contractors from Brasfield & Gorrie, the entire interior of the arena was demolished to the foundation and rebuilt. In addition to a new seating bowl with a luxury club with box seats, a new hanging scoreboard with a large video screen was installed over the floor. Locker rooms and meeting rooms were also upgraded, swimming and gymnastics areas were revamped, and a "grand entrance" was built facing Ben Hill Griffin Stadium across the street, among many other improvements. When it reopened in December 2016, a naming rights deal with local medical firm Exactech changed the name of the main arena to the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.[7][8]
Photo gallery
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The non-student side of the O'Connell Center during the 2008 NIT Second Round. Note the video replay board in the upper left added during the 2006–2007 season.
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Another angle from inside of the O'Connell Center during the 2008 NIT Second Round
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Florida men's basketball championship banners hanging inside the O'Connell Center during the 2012–13 season
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Exactech Area set up for avolleyball matchin 2019
See also
- Florida Gators
- History of the University of Florida
- List of University of Florida buildings
- List of University of Florida presidents
- List of NCAA Division I basketball arenas
- University Athletic Association
References
- ^ a b c "Rent the Center – Stephen C. O'Connell Center".
- ^ "Stephen C. O'Connell Center at the University of Florida". Archived from the original on November 10, 2005. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Stephen C. O'Connell Center". Structuae. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
- ^ a b "Consultant Hired To Check Cracks In 2 Sports Arenas". Ocala Star-Banner. October 4, 1979. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
- ^ Gainesville Sun. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
- ^ a b "Exactech and University of Florida Expand Partnership" (Press release). Exactech. June 9, 2016.
- ^ a b "Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center". floridgators.com.
- ^ a b "O'Connell Center". University of Florida.
- ^ "Gators Display Resilience and Clutch Free Throw Shooting To Win 70-68 Thriller Against Kentucky". floridgators.com.
- ^ "Box Score". floridgators.com.
- ^ "Alligator Alley Becomes Snakepit". UPI. January 13, 1976.
- ^ a b c Brockway, Kevin. "Dome Sweet Home". The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
- ^ ISBN 0813015235.
- ^ a b c Schweers, Jeff. "Why the O'Dome renovation was put off a year". The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
- ^ a b Walbolt, Dan (Interviewee) and Huse, Andrew T. (Interviewer), Dan Walbolt oral history interview by Andrew Huse, July 13, 2004 (2004).Digital Collection – USF Historical Archives Oral Histories. Paper 194.
- ^ McCallum, Jack (December 14, 1981). "Four on the Floor in Florida". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ Palm Beach Post: April 6, 2007-Floor For Sale
External links
- Official website
- Stephen C. O'Connell Center In-depth history of the arena from the official Florida Gators website.