McKale Center

McKale Center

Lute & Bobbi Olson Court
View from southwest in 2019
McKale Center Location in Arizona Show map of Arizona McKale Center Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Full name	McKale Memorial Center
Location	1 National Championship Dr. Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Coordinates	32°14′N110°57′W / 32.23°N 110.95°W / 32.23; -110.95
Owner	University of Arizona
Operator	University of Arizona
Capacity	14,688 (2015–present) [1]
Construction
Broke ground	November 1970
Opened	February 1, 1973 51 years ago
Construction cost	$8,145,077 ($55.9 million in 2023 [2] )
Architect	Place and Place, Inc.
General contractor	Sundt Construction, Inc. [3]
Tenants
Arizona Wildcats (NCAA) (1973–present)

McKale Center, from the north

Entrance to the Eddie Lynch Athletics Pavilion

McKale Memorial Center is an athletic arena in the southwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. As the home of the university's Wildcats basketball team of the Big 12 Conference, it is primarily used for basketball, but also has physical training and therapy facilities. Its construction is marked with a large copper cap that has oxidized brown.

In the 1960s, it was recognized that the Wildcats' basketball venue, Bear Down Gymnasium, was outdated and in need of replacement. Major planning for the new facility began in 1966. ^[4] During construction, the Wildcats briefly considered playing some of its 1971–72 home schedule in the then-newly completed 8,000-seat arena at the Tucson Convention Center, ^[5] but eventually declined, remaining in Bear Down Gym until the new venue was ready. The new arena officially opened in February 1973 ^[6] and has an official capacity of 14,688 spectators. ^[7] The elevation at street level is approximately 2,450 feet (750 m) above sea level.

The McKale Center was named in honor of J.F. "Pop" McKale, a major athletic figure at U of A from 1914 to 1957. At one time, he was head coach of all of the school's athletic teams. He was head basketball coach from 1914 to 1921, where he achieved a 49–12 (.803) record. He led the football team from 1914 to 1930, with an 80–32–6 (.703) record. It was McKale's first team that resulted in Arizona's teams being nicknamed "Wildcats." In 1914, Arizona's name meant very little in the college football world. Although they lost to Occidental College in Los Angeles 14–0, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times was so impressed with Arizona's effort that he wrote, "The Arizona men showed the fight of wild cats ..." Soon afterward, Arizona's student-athletes were nicknamed the Wildcats. ^[8]

Following a win over rival Arizona State on February 26, 2000, the university athletic department honored longtime head coach Lute Olson with a ceremony to name the McKale Center playing surface "Lute Olson Court." ^[9] Less than a year later, ^[10] during a memorial service in January 2001 for Olson's wife, Bobbi, it was renamed, "Lute and Bobbi Olson Court" in recognition of the couple's impact on the university and the city of Tucson. ^[11]

In 2002, the Eddie Lynch Athletics Pavilion, a state-of-the-art medical and strength/conditioning facility for Wildcat student athletes, was completed and opened. The pavilion (which cost $14 million) was a 36,000-square-foot (3,300 m²) addition to the north end of McKale Center. The upper level has a 10,000-square-foot (930 m²) museum-like display area, open to the public, showcasing the history of Arizona Wildcat athletics. ^[12]

In terms of capacity, McKale Center is the second-largest arena in the Pac-12 conference; Utah's Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City is first, but Arizona averages greater attendance. ^[13] Arizona has the current longest streak of leading its conference in attendance in conference history, going on 39 seasons & second in the country currently behind Kentucky at 45. ^[14]

The university's spring and winter commencement ceremonies were held at McKale Center from 1973 until 2012; the 2013 ceremonies returned to Arizona Stadium after an absence of thirty years.

Proposed renovation

In December 2012, the university athletic department was given approval by the Arizona Board of Regents to select an architect to renovate the arena. "The hope is to get it to be where it's one concourse enclosed that you can walk around and have the restrooms and concessions and everything tied to it," said athletic director Greg Byrne. ^[15] The renovation would also include a club area, luxury seating, and more room for the athletics offices that occupy the McKale Center.

The Arizona Athletic Department ultimately decided on AECOM to plan and design the renovation. The project will be completed in several phases from 2014 to 2017 at a cost of $80 million. McKale Center will remain open during the construction process, with a majority of the work done outside of basketball season. The first phase of the renovation includes a brand new HD video scoreboard which was completed at the end of December 2013. Other parts of the first phase also included new seating, a new floor, an improved locker room area and expanded restrooms and concessions. The first phase was completed in November 2014.

McKale Center records ^[16]

• First Game: Feb. 1, 1973; Arizona 87, Wyoming 69
• UA Record in Facility: 651–121 (.843)+
• Cumulative Attendance: 10,164,318 in 50 seasons (2020-21 not included in total att.)
• Undefeated Seasons: 13 (1976, ‘77, ‘86, ‘88, ‘89, ‘90, ‘91, ‘98, ‘99, ‘11, ‘14, ‘15, '22)
• Longest Home Court Win Streak: 71, Feb. 14, 1987–Jan. 11, 1992
• Most Points Scored, Arizona: 127, Arizona vs Arizona State, Jan. 15, 1998
• Most Points Scored, Opponent: 110, Arizona State vs. Arizona, Feb. 17, 1973
• Biggest Winning Margin, Arizona: 64, Arizona (118) vs. Robert Morris (54), Dec. 28, 1996
• Biggest Winning Margin, Opponent: 30, BYU (99) vs. Arizona (69), Dec. 28, 2009
• Most Points Scored, Arizona Individual: 41, Al Fleming, vs. Detroit, Jan. 10, 1976
• Most Points Scored, Opponent: 49, Jimmer Fredette, BYU vs. Arizona, Dec. 28, 2009

+ record reflects 35 vacated victories during 2007–08, 2016–17 & 2017–18 season due to NCAA infractions

Major events

• Host of the 1988 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament.
• On January 12, 2011, the McKale Center hosted a memorial service for the 2011 Tucson shooting victims in which President Barack Obama was the keynote speaker. ^[17]
• September 12, 2021, the Athletic Department held a memorial service for Lute Olson. ^[18]
• The arena has been a frequent site for games in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament since its opening. McKale Center hosted the first and second rounds of the tournament in 1979, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1997, 2000 and 2005; the second and third rounds in 2011; and the West Regional semifinals and final in 1974 and 1980.

Inside McKale Center

• 
  Upper Deck
• 
  Upper Student Section
• 
  President Barack Obama speaks in honor of the victims of the 2011 Tucson shooting

See also

• List of NCAA Division I basketball arenas

References

1. "2016-17 Media Guide". ArizonaWildcats.com. University of Arizona Athletics. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
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.
3. Cooper, James F.; Place, Lew. "Places in the Sun". University of Arizona. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
4. Porter, Carl (September 23, 1966). "A New Gym in Three Years". Tucson Daily Citizen. p. 27.
5. Petranek, Jan (August 20, 1971). "Wildcat Cagers to Stay in Bear Down". Tucson Daily Citizen. p. 53.
6. Erickson, P.J. (February 2, 1973). "Wildcats give McKale proper initiation". Tucson Daily Citizen. p. 55.
7. "Facility - McKale Center". ArizonaWildcats.com. University of Arizona Athletics. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
8. David Leighton, "Street Smarts: Before arena, road named for "Pop" McKale", Arizona Daily Star, June 17, 2014
9. "Wildcats help make Olson's day special". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. February 27, 2000. p. 5G.
10. "Grief-stricken Arizona falls hard to Stanford". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 7, 2001. p. 3F.
11. "McKale Memorial Center". Arizona Athletics. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
12. Fera, Brett (November 21, 2002). "Home Sweet Home at McKale Center". Arizona Daily Wildcat . University of Arizona. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
13. "2010 National College Basketball Attendance" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 1, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
14. "Arizona Media Guide" (PDF). ArizonaWildcats.com. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
15. Murray, Evyn; McDannald, Tracy (January 9, 2013). "Greg Byrne on McKale Center Renovations". Yahoo! Sports . Retrieved November 13, 2013.
16. "Arizona Media Guide" (PDF). ArizonaWildcats.com.
17. "President Obama: Memorial in Arizona". whitehouse.gov . January 12, 2011. Archived from the original on January 28, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2013– via National Archives.
18. "Full Replay of Lute Olson Tribute Now Available". 13 September 2021.

External links

• McKale Center – Arizona Athletics
• McKale Memorial Center – The University of Arizona, Tucson