Al Lawson Center

Last updated
Alfred Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center and Teaching Gymnasium
"Al Lawson Center"
FAMU Lawson Multipurpose Center.jpg
Al Lawson Center
Location1800 Wahnish Way
Tallahassee, Florida 32310
Coordinates 30°25′28″N84°17′26″W / 30.424318°N 84.290473°W / 30.424318; -84.290473
OwnerFlorida A&M University
OperatorFlorida A&M University
Capacity 9,639 (basketball)
SurfaceHardwood
Construction
Broke groundJuly 27, 2007
OpenedApril 4, 2009 (basketball)
Construction cost$40 Million
($54.6 million in 2022 dollars [1] )
ArchitectWilliams-Russell & Johnson, Inc
Akin & Associates Architects, Inc.
Project manager Turner Construction
General contractorF.L. Crane & Sons
Tenants
Florida A&M Rattlers athletics

The Alfred Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center and Teaching Gymnasium (known as the Al Lawson Center) is a 9,639-seat multi-purpose arena in Tallahassee, Florida on the Campus of Florida A&M University. [2] It was built in 2009 and it is home to the Florida A&M men's and women's basketball teams and women's volleyball team. The arena replaced Jake Gaither Gymnasium, which is a 3,365-seat multi-purpose arena. The Al Lawson Center is the second biggest arena in Tallahassee, behind the 12,500-seat Donald L. Tucker Civic Center. [3] [ failed verification ] The official ribbon cutting ceremony was April 8, 2009. [4]

Contents

The center is named for Congressman Al Lawson, himself a former FAMU basketball player, who was instrumental in getting the funding for this center and other buildings on the campus of Florida A&M University during his tenure in the Florida Legislature. [5]

The Al Lawson Center is the 3rd largest arena in the Florida Panhandle, and is often used as an alternative to the much larger and older Donald L. Tucker Center.[ citation needed ] It was the Tallahassee stop of actress/singer/native Floridian Ariana Grande's Honeymoon Tour in 2015.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryce Jordan Center</span> Arena in University Park, Pennsylvania

The Bryce Jordan Center is a 15,261-seat multi-purpose arena in University Park, Pennsylvania, United States, on the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania State University. The arena opened in 1996 and is the largest such venue between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It replaced Rec Hall as the home to the Nittany Lions men's and women's basketball teams, the Pride of the Lions Pep Band, and its student section, Legion of Blue. It also plays host to events such as concerts, circuses, and commencement ceremonies for colleges within the university. The arena is named after former Penn State University president Bryce Jordan, who was instrumental in acquiring funding needed to build it. The arena is associated with the Arena Network, a marketing and scheduling group of 38 arenas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humphrey Coliseum</span> Basketball arena at Mississippi State University

Humphrey Coliseum is a 10,575-seat multi-purpose arena located on the campus of Mississippi State University, just outside Starkville, Mississippi, that opened for the 1975-76 basketball season. Nicknamed The Hump, it is home to the Mississippi State Bulldogs men's and women's basketball teams. It is the largest on-campus basketball arena in the state of Mississippi. The building is the equivalent of seven stories high and is in the shape of an oval 318' long by 268' wide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald L. Tucker Civic Center</span> Arena in Florida, United States

The Donald L. Tucker Civic Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena located on the Florida State University campus in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. The arena has the biggest capacity of any arena in the Florida Panhandle. The arena opened in 1981 and was built at a cost of over $30 million, financed by the city. In 2013, the venue was purchased by the Florida State University Board of Trustees. The facility is located on the southeastern side of the university's campus, between the FSU College of Law and the future home of the FSU College of Business.

The Hulman Center is a 9,000-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Watsco Center</span> Arena in Florida, United States

The Watsco Center is an 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The venue hosts concerts, family shows, trade shows, lecture series, university events and sporting events, including all University of Miami men's and women's basketball games.

Jack Stephens Center is a 5,600-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States and was built in 2005. It is home to the school's men's basketball, women's basketball, men's wrestling, and women's volleyball teams, known as the Little Rock Trojans, and named in honor of billionaire philanthropist Jackson T. Stephens, who donated $22.4 million for the construction of the facility. The facility is located on the north end of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock campus, adjacent to the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service State Office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Gola Arena</span>

Tom Gola Arena is a 3,400-seat multi-purpose arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania situated inside the TruMark Financial Center. It is home to the La Salle University Explorers men's and women's basketball teams. It is named after former Explorers captain and head coach Tom Gola, currently in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robins Center</span> Building in Virginia, United States

The Robins Center is a 7,201-seat multi-purpose arena in Richmond, Virginia. Opened in 1972, the arena is home to the University of Richmond Spiders basketball. It hosted the ECAC South men's basketball tournament in 1983. It is named for E. Claiborne Robins Sr, class of 1931, who, along with his family, have been leading benefactors for the school. The opening of the Robins Center returning Spider basketball to an on-campus facility for the first time since the mid-1940s when it outgrew Millhiser Gymnasium. In the intervening decades, the Spiders played home games in numerous locations around the Richmond area, including the Richmond Coliseum (1971–1972), the Richmond Arena (1954–1971), the Benedictine High School gymnasium (1951–1954), Grays' Armory (1950–1951) and Blues' Armory (1947–1950). The Robins Center arena serves as the location of the University of Richmond's commencement exercises and hosted a 1992 Presidential debate involving Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and Ross Perot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knapp Center</span> Multi-purpose arena in Des Moines, Iowa

The Knapp Center is a 6,424-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was built in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UNF Arena</span>

UNF Arena is a multi-purpose arena located on the campus of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida. It is home to the North Florida Ospreys men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball teams. It is also used for other events, such as concerts and graduation ceremonies, and has served as the site of the Orlando Magic franchise's training camp. It opened in 1993 and has a capacity of up to 6,300.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vines Center</span>

The Vines Convocation Center, also known as simply The Vines Center, is a 9,547-seat multi-purpose arena in Lynchburg, Virginia. It was built in 1990 and was home to the Liberty University Flames (men's) and Lady Flames (women's) basketball teams from its opening until the adjacent Liberty Arena opened in 2020. The Vines Center features three practice courts, four spacious locker rooms, a weight room, a training room, men's and women's basketball team rooms, a team dining room, basketball coaches offices, a built-in TV studio, a center-hung scoreboard and a suite atop the seating bowl. It hosted the Big South Conference men's basketball tournament from 1995 to 1998, and also all rounds of the tourney except for the first round in 2003 and 2004. In the fall of 2008 the Vines Center underwent a major renovation of all seating. New red and blue cushioned seats were installed and new blue plastic game seats were put in place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampton Convocation Center</span>

Hampton Convocation Center is a 7,200-seat multi-purpose arena in Hampton, Virginia. It was built in 1993 and is home to the Hampton University Pirates basketball team. The arena replaced Holland Hall gymnasium, which holds women's volleyball matches and tournaments. The construction cost was about $4 million-$5 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George M. Holmes Convocation Center</span>

The George M. Holmes Convocation Center is an 8,325-seat multipurpose arena in Boone, North Carolina, United States, on the campus of Appalachian State University. The convocation center is named for George M. Holmes, a 1954 graduate and member of the North Carolina General Assembly. The arena itself is named for Seby Jones. It was built in 2000 and is home to four athletic teams: Appalachian State Mountaineers men's basketball, Appalachian State Mountaineers women's basketball, volleyball, and indoor track and field. The inaugural event was a men's basketball game held on November 17, 2000 between the Mountaineers and the Tar Heels of North Carolina. The facility replaced Varsity Gymnasium. The George M. Holmes Convocation Center’s Mission is to provide facilities for the Department of Health, Leisure and Exercise Science and to support the academic processes of Appalachian State University. Serving as a multipurpose for the northwestern region of North Carolina, the center supports university sponsored events, such as commencement and college fair. Cultural events, concerts, trade shows, athletic events and other public assembly activities are also a part of the center’s programming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLeod Center</span> Multi-purpose arena in Cedar Falls, Iowa

The McLeod Center is a 7,018-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) in Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA, currently housing the university's teams in men's and women's basketball, and women's volleyball. The arena opened on November 18, 2006, with a volleyball game against Bradley. The other three UNI teams made their debuts in the facility over the next three days — men's basketball versus Milwaukee on November 19, women's basketball against Iowa State on November 20, and wrestling versus Iowa on November 21.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alumni Coliseum</span>

Alumni Coliseum is a multi-use sports arena located on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walsh Gymnasium</span>

Walsh Gymnasium is a multi-purpose arena in South Orange, New Jersey on the campus of Seton Hall University. The arena opened in 1941 and can seat 1,316 people. It was home to the Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball team before they moved to the Meadowlands in 1985 and then Prudential Center in 2007. Currently, the arena hosts the women's basketball and volleyball teams, but continues to host men's basketball for preseason exhibitions, postseason invitational games such as early rounds of the NIT, and occasionally a regular season non-conference game if there is a conflict with Prudential Center's event schedule. The building is part of the Richie Regan Recreation & Athletic Center, and, like the school's main library, is named for Rev. Thomas J. Walsh, fifth bishop of Newark and former President of the Board of Trustees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center</span>

The John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center is a multi-purpose arena in Buies Creek, North Carolina. The arena, Gore Arena, is located on the campus of Campbell University and hosts the university's basketball, volleyball, and wrestling programs. It is named for Gilbert Craig Gore, the late son of a Campbell alum. The John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center is a part of the expansion plan of Campbell's athletic facilities, which includes a new football stadium and renovations to existing Taylor Field of the baseball program. The John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center replaced Carter Gymnasium, which was the second smallest gymnasium in Division I Basketball with just 947 seats, second only to Charleston Southern's Fieldhouse which holds 750. The John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center also host events such as the universities commencement ceremonies and other university related events.

Kimmel Arena is the home of the UNC Asheville Bulldogs basketball programs, both men and women's. It is a 3,200-seat arena located on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Asheville in Asheville, North Carolina. Kimmel Arena, named for local businessman Joe Kimmel, is part of the much larger Wilma M. Sherrill Center, which is a 133,500-square-foot (12,400 m2) facility. The arena held its first games, both exhibitions, on November 7, 2011, and formally opened November 13, 2011, as UNC Asheville hosted the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. It replaces the Justice Center as UNCA's home court, but the latter will remain as a training facility and physical education complex.

The original Harmon Gymnasium was a gymnasium on the campus of the University of California in Berkeley, California. It was the fourth building built on campus, after North Hall, South Hall and Bacon Hall, and the first built with funds from a private donor. In 1878, Albion Keith Paris Harmon, an Oakland businessman, donated $15,000 to the University for the construction of a gymnasium and assembly hall, which was to be named in his honor. In 1879 the octagonal wooden building opened, north of Strawberry Creek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain Health Arena</span>

The Mountain Health Arena, originally known as the Huntington Civic Center, later as the Huntington Civic Arena and later, for sponsorship reasons as the Big Sandy Superstore Arena, is a municipal complex located in the downtown area of Huntington, West Virginia, one block west of Pullman Square. The arena consists of a 9,000-seat multi-purpose arena and an attached conference center. It is home to numerous concerts and events, and was the home of the Huntington Hammer of the Ultimate Indoor Football League for 2011. Marshall University's graduation ceremonies are also held at the arena. It was renamed for sponsorship reason to its current name in 2019.

References

  1. 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 May 28, 2023.
  2. "FAMU's New Gym, New era in FAMU Basketball".[ permanent dead link ]
  3. "About Us". Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.
  4. "Ribbon Cutting Ceremony". Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University.
  5. "FAMU Holds Renaming Ceremonies for Campus Buildings and Road". WCTV CBS Tallahassee.