The Bren | |
Full name | Donald Bren Events Center |
---|---|
Location | 100 Bren Event Center Drive Irvine, CA 92612 |
Coordinates | 33°38′57″N117°50′49″W / 33.64917°N 117.84694°W |
Owner | University of California, Irvine |
Operator | University of California, Irvine |
Capacity | 4,984 (for basketball) 5,430 (for concerts) 5,608 (maximum) |
Surface | Hardwood |
Construction | |
Broke ground | 1984 |
Opened | January 8, 1987 |
Construction cost | $14 million ($37.5 million in 2023 dollars [1] ) |
Architect | Parkin Architects Limited |
Tenants | |
UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball UC Irvine Anteaters women's basketball UC Irvine Anteaters men's volleyball UC Irvine Anteaters women's volleyball |
The Donald Bren Events Center, [2] commonly known as the Bren Events Center or simply the Bren, is a 5,608-seat indoor arena on the campus of the University of California, Irvine, in Irvine, California, United States.
It was conceived and planned in 1981, with the passage of a student referendum authorizing an assessment of $23 per student per quarter as of winter 1987. It opened January 8, 1987, with UCI men's basketball vs. Utah State. Parkin Architects Limited served as the architects for the building, which was renamed "Donald Bren Events Center" in 1988. [3] The University of California, Irvine renamed the structure in honor of real estate mogul and chairman of the Irvine Company, Donald Bren, upon receipt of a $1.5 million donation. [4]
In fall 2023, renovations began on the Bren Events Center to install a new jumbotron on the south wall as well as new ribbon boards around the perimeter of the arena. A temporary court was also installed due to damage from a flood. [5]
It is a 65,000 assignable (90,000 gross) square-foot multi-purpose facility servicing the university and all of southern California. It features a 22,000-square-foot (2,000 m2) arena which hosts UCI Anteater Basketball, volleyball and serves as a general assembly space for special events. Additional conference and meeting spaces are available to support arena events and to host small meetings. In addition, it provides:
It serves as the home to UC Irvine Anteaters athletic programs. Men's basketball, women's basketball, and men's volleyball all play their home games at Bren.
The facility was home to the 1990, 1991 and 1992 U.S. Open Badminton Championships. [6]
It is also used for concerts, trade fairs, conventions, Broadway shows and graduation ceremonies.
Recent examples of usage include hosting Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, when he spoke in 2004, while Jimmy Carter spoke and answered questions about his book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid on 3 May 2007. [7] Bill Clinton spoke at a campaign rally for local Democratic candidates in 2012. [8]
The university's Filipino cultural organization, Kababayan, hosts their annual Pilipinx American Cultural Night, [9] abbreviated to PACN, at the Bren. It is the largest Filipino cultural performance in the state.
TNA Wrestling also held its 2009 Bound For Glory Event here.
Blink-182 headlined a sold-out show at the Bren in 1999.
The Walter A. Haas Jr. Pavilion is an indoor arena on the campus of the University of California in Berkeley. It is the home venue of the Golden Bears men's and women's basketball, women's volleyball, and men's and women's gymnastics teams. The arena is located in the middle of the main sports complex, overlooking Evans Diamond (baseball) and Edwards Stadium (track/soccer).
The Cintas Center is a 10,250-seat multi-purpose arena and conference center on the campus on Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. The arena officially opened in 2000 and was constructed through private donations as part of Xavier University's Century Campaign. It is home to the Xavier University Musketeers basketball and volleyball teams. It is named for the uniform company Cintas.
First National Bank Arena is a 10,038-seat multi-purpose arena located on the campus of Arkansas State University, and is home to their college basketball team, the Red Wolves.
The Charles E. Smith Center is a 5,000-seat multipurpose arena in Washington, D.C. Opened on November 17, 1975, it is home to the George Washington Revolutionaries men's and women's basketball teams, as well as the university's swimming, water polo, gymnastics, and volleyball teams. From 2014 to 2018, it was the home of the Washington Kastles of World TeamTennis. Smith Center also became the temporary home of the Washington Mystics as they made a run at a WNBA Championship in 2018. Smith Center is located on the main George Washington campus in Foggy Bottom, on the block bounded by 22nd and 23rd and F and G Streets NW. The arena also has hosted concerts and includes practice courts, a swimming pool, a weight room, and athletic department offices.
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.
Binghamton University Events Center is the premier Division I Athletics and multipurpose facility at Binghamton University. The arena opened in 2004 and is adjacent to the Bearcat Sports Complex. It is home to the Binghamton Bearcats Division I Intercollegiate Athletic Program and can seat 5,142 patrons for home games, and over 8,000 for other large-scale events. It has hosted the 2005, 2006, and 2008 America East Conference men's basketball tournaments; the 2007 American East women's tournament as well as the first round and quarterfinal of the 2018 WBI tournament. The Events Center was host to the 2009 America East Conference Championship game when the Bearcats defeated UMBC to make March Madness. The facility has also hosted commencements and concerts such as Bob Dylan, Green Day, Incubus, Ludacris, Foo Fighters, Drake and Harry Connick Jr. The arena contains 53000 square feet of space.
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.
The Show Me Center is a multi-purpose arena, located on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
Reese Court is a 6,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Cheney, Washington, on the campus of Eastern Washington University. It is home to the EWU Eagles basketball team and replaced Eastern Washington Fieldhouse in 1975. It was the host venue of the 2004 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament, and is located southwest of the football stadium, Roos Field.
The Liston B. Ramsey Regional Activity Center is a 7,826-seat multi-purpose arena in Cullowhee, in the U.S. state of North Carolina, and is home to the Western Carolina University Catamounts basketball and volleyball teams. It is also named "The Lair". It is a state owned facility and offers the largest seating capacity inside the Charlotte–Atlanta–Knoxville triangle.
The University Center is a 7,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Hammond, Louisiana, United States, on the campus Southeastern Louisiana University. Often called "the UC" within the university, it was built in 1982 at a cost of $16.3 million.
Strahan Arena is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena in San Marcos, Texas. It is an $8.8 million facility built in 1982 and is home to the Texas State University Bobcats men's basketball team, women's basketball team and women's volleyball team.
Kaplan Arena is a building used for athletic events for the William & Mary Tribe sports teams at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The building contains an 8,600-seat arena, which can seat 11,300 with extra bleachers. The arena's floor measures almost 24,000 square feet (2,200 m2). The building was formerly known as William & Mary Hall. From 2005 to 2016, only the arena proper was called Kaplan Arena, before the entire building was renamed to honor alumni Jane Thompson Kaplan and Jim Kaplan.
The UC Irvine Anteaters are the athletic teams fielded by the University of California, Irvine. Its athletics programs participate in the NCAA's Division I, as members of the Big West Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. For earlier years of the school's existence, the teams participated at the Division II level with great success as explained below.
The James H. and Jesse E. Millis Athletic and Convocation Center is a 1750-seat multi-purpose athletic and academic facility on the campus of High Point University (HPU) in High Point, North Carolina. The basis of the building is Alumni Hall, it is home to the high point university panthers men’s basketball which was built in 1957. In 1992, the facility was added upon, creating the office space, classrooms and pool on the western side of the facility, as well as adding a state-of-the-art press box.
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.
Crawford Hall is the basketball and volleyball practice facility for UC Irvine Athletics. Crawford Court located in Crawford Hall is a 1,400-seat arena that houses the UC Irvine intercollegiate athletics offices, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's volleyball and women's volleyball teams practice facilities.
The campus of the University of California, Irvine is known for its concentric layout with academic and service buildings arrayed around a central park, and for its Brutalist architecture.
The 2018–19 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Anteaters were led by ninth-year head coach Russell Turner competing in the Bren Events Center. UC Irvine is a member of the Big West Conference, and participated in their 41st consecutive season in that league. The team finished the season with many new records that included a new school record of 31-6, longest game winning streak (17), and first ever NCAA Tournament win over Kansas State in the South Region 1st Round before falling to Oregon in the 2nd Round. Jonathan Galloway became the new program record holder of rebounds (969), career games won (95), career games played (146). Max Hazzard broke the Bren Events Center record for most three pointers made in a game on December 15 against Denver (10) and the team broke the school record for most threes made in a game that night with 18. Evan Leonard set a school record of 44 consecutive free throws made that ended in the NCAA Tournament 2nd Round vs Oregon. The team finished 2nd in the 2018 Asia-Pacific University Basketball Challenge prior to the season and the 2019 Gulf Coast Showcase during the regular season. The team won its 4th regular season title in 6 seasons on March 2, 2019 in a win over UC Riverside. The team won its second Big West tournament title with wins over UC Riverside, Long Beach State, and Cal State Fullerton.
The 2019–20 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Anteaters were led by tenth-year head coach Russell Turner and played their home games at the Bren Events Center. UC Irvine was a member of the Big West Conference. The team won their second straight Big West regular-season title before the 2020 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament; subsequently, the remainder of the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season and postseason tournaments were canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The team finished 21–11, and won at least a share of 3 of the last 4 Big West regular-season titles. The program has won at least 20 games in 7 of the last 8 seasons. Turner became the winningest coach in program history on January 15 surpassing Pat Douglass's total of 197 wins and won his 4th Big West Coach of the Year Award. Evan Leonard, Eyassu Worku and Tommy Rutherford all recorded their 1,000th point during the season, the first time the program has had three players score 1,000 career points in the same season. The team was 12th in the nation in FG% defense, holding opponents to 38.8% shooting, 11th in total rebounds (1,269), and 3rd in rebounding margin (+9.4). Brad Greene pulled down a Bren Events Center-record 21 rebounds on January 11 vs. Hawaii.