Carver–Hawkeye Arena

Carver–Hawkeye Arena
Carver; The House that Lute Built
Former names	Hawkeye Sports Arena (planning)
Address	1 Elliott Dr; Iowa City, IA 52242
Location	University of Iowa
Coordinates	41°39′49″N 91°33′16″W / 41.66361°N 91.55444°W
Owner	Curtis Jones
Capacity	14,998 (2023–present); 15,056 (2018–2023); 15,400 (2011–18); 15,500 (1983–2011)
Surface	Parquet
Construction
Broke ground	July 15, 1980
Opened	January 3, 1983
Renovated	2009–11
Construction cost	$18.4 million; ($68 million in 2023 dollars)
Architect	Caudill Rowlett Scott; Durant Group
Structural engineer	Geiger Berger Associates
General contractor	CRS/Knutson
Tenants
	Iowa Men's Basketball ; Iowa Women's Basketball; Iowa Volleyball; Iowa Wrestling

The Carver–Hawkeye Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Iowa City, Iowa. Opened in 1983, it is the home court for The University of Iowa Hawkeyes men's and women's basketball teams, as well as the university's wrestling, and gymnastics teams. It was named for the late industrialist Roy J. Carver of Muscatine, Iowa, a prominent statewide booster, who donated $9.2 million to The University of Iowa before his death in 1981.^[4] Prior to the arena's opening, Iowa's athletic teams played at the Iowa Field House.

History

Prior to playing in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa teams played in Close Hall (1902–1905) and then the first Iowa Armory (1905–1922). The first Armory was at the site of the current UI Communications Center building currently sits, across from the Library on the East Side of the Iowa River. Iowa teams moved to the second Iowa Armory (1922–1926), and then to the adjoining Iowa Field House (1926–1982), built directly beside the second Iowa Armory, which was incorporated into the new Field House facility.^[5]^[6]

In 1927, the Iowa Field House was opened during Paul Belding's tenure as athletic director. Considered as a "magnificent structure for its day", the Field House was home to Iowa's basketball and wrestling teams and included an indoor track and swimming pool.^[4]

The Field House, however, was known for its steel balconies and sub-par acoustics, along with columns that obstructed views. When demand was high for Hawkeye basketball, bleachers were placed behind the baskets, allowing some 15,000 to attend games. Season ticket sales increased during the highly successful tenures of head coaches Ralph Miller and Lute Olson, and support for a new arena gradually increased. Following approval from the Iowa Board of Regents, construction of Carver-Hawkeye Arena began.^[4]

Entirely funded by private contributions, the arena was expected to be open for the 1982–83 school year, but weather slowed construction to the point where the first event was held on January 3, 1983. Iowa's wrestling team defeated Oklahoma and two days later, the men's basketball team played their first game – a loss to Michigan State – in the new arena.^[4]

An NCAA attendance record for women's basketball was set on February 3, 1985. 22,157 were in attendance at Carver-Hawkeye arena as Iowa lost to rival Ohio State.^[7]

Notable athletic events in the arena include the Big Ten and NCAA wrestling championships, the National Duals, the U.S. Olympic wrestling trials in 1984 and 2012, the UWW World Cup in 2018, and the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament.

The arena also serves as the site of commencement exercises for several of the university's colleges, and has hosted concerts by artists such as U2, Whitney Houston, Stevie Nicks, *NSYNC, Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Old Dominion, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, and speeches by Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton as well as Desmond Tutu and Jane Goodall. Carver-Hawkeye also hosted many events in place of Hancher Auditorium and Cedar Rapids' U.S. Cellular Center while both venues underwent renovations after the Iowa flood of 2008.

On December 6, 2008, Iowa set the national collegiate wrestling dual meet attendance record as 15,955 fans packed the arena for Iowa-Iowa State match. The previous record of 15,646 was set Feb. 1, 2002, when Minnesota hosted Iowa at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Barry Davis, Tom Brands, Brent Metcalf, Tony Ramos, and Spencer Lee are the only Hawkeye wrestlers to never lose a match during their college career in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.^{[citation needed]}

In 2016, a new scoreboard was added to the arena. It measures at 14.5 feet (4.4 m) high by 26 feet (7.9 m) wide.^[8]

On April 7 and 8, 2018, the arena hosted the Wrestling World Cup.

External links

Carver–Hawkeye Arena: The Home of the Hawkeyes Archived 2015-09-05 at the Wayback Machine webpage (HawkeyeSports.com: Facilities)

References

^ ^a ^b McNeil, Heidi (July 16, 1980). "Arena Ground Broken, Bagged" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. University of Iowa. p. 8. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
^ 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 ^c Architecture: the AIA journal, Volume 73, Issues 4–6. New York: American Institute of Architects. 1984. p. 384.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Carver–Hawkeye Arena: Celebrating 25 Years. University of Iowa, 2008.
^ Hawkeye Legends, Lists, & Lore By Mike Finn, Chad Leistikow, ISBN 1571671781
^ http://www.iowalum.com/hardwood/ Iowa Basketball History
^ "An NCAA attendance record for women's basketball was set".
^ "University of Iowa Turns to Daktronics for Video Upgrades on Campus".

[groundbreaking-1] McNeil, Heidi (July 16, 1980). "Arena Ground Broken, Bagged" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. University of Iowa. p. 8. Retrieved November 11, 2013.

[inflation-US-2] 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.

[AIA-3] Architecture: the AIA journal, Volume 73, Issues 4–6. New York: American Institute of Architects. 1984. p. 384.

[UI_informational_booklet-4] Carver–Hawkeye Arena: Celebrating 25 Years. University of Iowa, 2008.

[5] Hawkeye Legends, Lists, & Lore By Mike Finn, Chad Leistikow, ISBN 1571671781

[6] ttp://www.iowalum.com/hardwood/ Iowa Basketball History

[7] "An NCAA attendance record for women's basketball was set".

[8] "University of Iowa Turns to Daktronics for Video Upgrades on Campus".

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v t e Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball
Venues	Close Hall (1901–1904) First Iowa Armory (1905–1922) Second Iowa Armory (1922–1926) Iowa Field House (1927–1983) Carver–Hawkeye Arena (1983–present)
Rivalries	Iowa "Big Four" Iowa State (Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series) Illinois
Culture & lore	"Iowa Fight Song" Herky the Hawk Gambling scandal First 5-on-5 college basketball game
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1892–93 1893–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–1901 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t e Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball
Venues	Iowa Field House (1974–1983) Carver–Hawkeye Arena (1983–present)
Rivalries	Iowa State (Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series)
Culture & lore	Crossover at Kinnick Herky the Hawk "Iowa Fight Song" Full Court Press The Law Firm Caitlin Clark effect
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t e Music venues of Iowa
Outdoor venues	East Park Band Shell Estes Park Band Shell Grandview Park Music Pavilion Harrah's Council Bluffs Karl King Bandshell Mid-America Motorplex LeClaire Park Bandshell Oskaloosa City Park Band Stand
Theaters and clubs	Center for Faith and Life Des Moines Civic Center Adler Theatre River Music Experience Orpheum Theatre Paramount Theatre
Arenas	Alliant Energy PowerHouse Carver–Hawkeye Arena Five Flags Center Hilton Coliseum McElroy Auditorium McLeod Center Mid-America Center Tyson Events Center UNI-Dome Wells Fargo Arena
Festivals	515 Alive 80/35 Music Festival Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival
Historic venues	The Col Ballroom Lakeside Ballroom Surf Ballroom

History

See also

External links

References