Charles Koch Arena

Charles Koch Arena
The Roundhouse
Former names	University of Wichita Field House (1955–1964); WSU Field House (1964–1969); Levitt Arena (1969–2003)
Location	Wichita State University ; SE corner of 21st and Hillside; Wichita, Kansas 67260
Coordinates	37°43′18″N97°17′51″W / 37.72167°N 97.29750°W
Owner	Wichita State University
Operator	Wichita State University
Capacity	10,506
Surface	Hardwood
Construction
Broke ground	1953
Opened	December 3, 1955
Renovated	2002–2003
Construction cost	$1.4 million (original construction); ($15.3 million in 2022 dollars); $25 million (renovation)
Tenants
	Wichita State Shockers men's basketball (1955–2002, 2003–present); Wichita State Shockers women's basketball (1995–2002, 2003–present); Wichita State Shockers volleyball (1974–1980, 1991–2001, 2003–present)

Last updated November 27, 2023

Charles Koch Arena is a 10,506-seat multi-purpose arena in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is located on the southeast corner of 21st and Hillside on the campus of Wichita State University in northeast Wichita. The arena is home of the Wichita State Shockers men's basketball, women's basketball, and women's volleyball teams.

History

Interior of Charles Koch Arena Charles-Koch-Arena.jpg — Interior of Charles Koch Arena

The arena was originally built in 1953 as the University of Wichita Field House by what was then the Municipal University of Wichita. It was considered several years ahead of its time because of its circular design, which gave nearly every fan a clear sight line and put the seats very close to the action. As a result, it was quickly nicknamed "The Roundhouse," a name that has stuck to this day. When Wichita joined the state university system in 1964, the arena was renamed the WSU Field House.

In 1969, the arena was officially renamed Levitt Arena after Wichita department store magnate Henry Levitt, who had recently died. Levitt's Wichita clothing store sponsored basketball team won three consecutive national Amateur Athletic Union titles in the 1930s at a time when colleges and corporate-sponsored teams competed in the same tournament.

Following a $6 million endowment from Charles Koch ^[2] the arena underwent a $25 million renovation in 2002–03, popularly known as the "Roundhouse Renaissance". The old arena concourse was completely demolished and a new one built around the original playing/seating area. A portion of the seating bowl was remodeled to make for more legroom. The basketball court itself became Devlin Court, named after a family of program supporters.^[3] All new seating was installed as well as a video scoreboard, and virtually every surface that was not renovated was given a fresh coat of paint. The Shocker basketball teams played at the Kansas Coliseum for the 2002–03 season while the arena was rebuilt, while the volleyball team played at the Heskett Center on the WSU campus.

In December 2012, ESPN ranked Charles Koch Arena at number 10 in the nation in a poll on home-court advantages in College Basketball. In January 2013, ESPN's Jason King listed Koch Arena as the 7th best home court advantage in college basketball.^[4]

Events

Elvis Presley gave three performances at the arena with the first concert there happening on June 19, 1972. The other two times were October 7, 1974, and December 27, 1976, with the latter occurring almost seven months before his death on August 16, 1977.

It hosted the 1977 and 1989 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament title game. It also hosted games for the opening rounds of the 1981 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

In addition to concerts, the arena has also hosted the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, Disney on Ice and Champions on Ice, both as Levitt Arena and Koch Arena. American Idols Live! has performed annually at Koch Arena since 2003.

Koch Arena hosted the 2008 Kansas State High School Activities Association Class 6A state wrestling tournament. The arena also hosts numerous high school basketball games involving schools from the Wichita City League. The KSHSAA Class 6A boys and girls basketball state tournaments moved to Koch Arena from Emporia State University's William L. White Auditorium in 2011.

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References

↑ 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.
↑ "Koch gives $6 million to update WSU Areana – the donation, the largest in the university's history, helps make possible a complete renovation of the Levitt Arena, which will reopen as Koch Arena in 2003" – Wichita Eagle – November 1, 2000
↑ "Roundhouse Renaissance: Charles Koch Arena". The Wichita Eagle . October 12, 2003. p. 9. Retrieved July 20, 2021– via newspapers.com.
↑ "King's Court: Home sweet home". ESPN . January 13, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2013.

External links

Official athletic site
Charles Koch Arena information Archived 2014-03-05 at the Wayback Machine , wichita.edu
WSU Campus Map, wichita.edu

Historical

1954 to 1978 arena history, specialcollections.wichita.edu
1965 aerial view looking west toward WSU campus, wichitaphotos.org
1952 aerial view looking northeast showing grounds before the Field House was built (edge of football stadium in upper-right corner), wichitaphotos.org

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Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[inflation-US-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] "Koch gives $6 million to update WSU Areana – the donation, the largest in the university's history, helps make possible a complete renovation of the Levitt Arena, which will reopen as Koch Arena in 2003" – Wichita Eagle – November 1, 2000

[3] "Roundhouse Renaissance: Charles Koch Arena". The Wichita Eagle . October 12, 2003. p. 9. Retrieved July 20, 2021– via newspapers.com.

[4] "King's Court: Home sweet home". ESPN . January 13, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2013.

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v t e Wichita State Shockers men's basketball
Venues	Charles Koch Arena (1955–2002; 2003–present) Kansas Coliseum (2002–2003)
Rivalries	Tulsa
Culture & lore	WuShock
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	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
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t e Wichita State Shockers women's basketball
Venues	Charles Koch Arena (1974–2002; 2003–present) Kansas Coliseum (2002–2003)
Culture & lore	History WuShock
People	Head coaches
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

v t e City of Wichita
General	Demographics Education Geography and climate Government History Timeline Media Metropolitan area Notable people Sports Transportation
Neighborhoods	College Hill Delano Downtown Wichita El Pueblo The Hyde McAdams Midtown Riverside South Central
Landmarks and culture	Botanica Epic Center Joyland The Keeper of the Plains Music Theatre Wichita Orpheum Theatre Sedgwick County Extension Arboretum Sedgwick County Zoo Towne East Square Towne West Square Wichita Public Library Wichita Symphony Orchestra
Museums	Exploration Place Great Plains Transportation Museum Kansas Aviation Museum Kansas Sports Hall of Fame Mid-America All-Indian Center Museum of World Treasures Old Cowtown Museum Wichita Art Museum Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum
Event venues	Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center Cessna Stadium Charles Koch Arena Cotillion Ballroom Eck Stadium Hartman Arena Intrust Bank Arena Kansas Coliseum Riverfront Stadium
Colleges and universities	Friends University Newman University University of Kansas School of Medicine Wichita Area Technical College Wichita State University
Category

v t e Koch family
First generation	Harry Koch: 1867–1942
Second generation	Fred C. Koch: 1900–1967
Third generation	Frederick R. Koch: 1933–2020 Charles Koch: 1935 David Koch: 1940–2019 Julia Koch: 1962 William Koch: 1940
Fourth generation	Elizabeth Koch: 1976 Chase Koch: 1977
Major companies	Koch Industries
Other organizations	Americans for Prosperity Bill of Rights Institute Cato Institute Charles Koch Institute Citizens for a Sound Economy Koch family foundations Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
See also	Political activities of the Koch brothers Mary R. Koch (ship) The Science of Success (book) Good Profit (book) Mercatus Center Charles Koch Arena David H. Koch Theater Koch Brothers Exposed