Savage Arena

Savage Arena
	Exterior view of the Sullivan Athletic Complex and Savage Arena
Full name	John F. Savage Arena
Former names	Centennial Hall (1976–88); John F. Savage Hall (1988–2008)
Address	2025 N Douglas Rd; Toledo, OH 43606
Coordinates	41°39′37″N83°36′35″W / 41.660232°N 83.609795°W
Owner	University of Toledo
Capacity	7,300
Construction
Opened	1976
Renovated	2008
Architect	SSOE + Ellerbe Becket (AECOM)
Tenants
	Toledo Rockets (NCAA) (1976–present)

Last updated June 30, 2024

Savage Arena (formerly John F. Savage Hall and Centennial Hall) is a multi-purpose arena located in Toledo, Ohio, on the campus of the University of Toledo.

The arena opened in 1976 and originally seated 9,000 for basketball and up to 10,000 for concerts. As part of a $30 million renovation and addition to the arena, completed in 2008, the seating capacity was reduced to 7,300 for basketball and up to 8,300 for concerts. It primarily serves as the home venue for the Toledo Rockets men's and women's basketball teams and women's volleyball team, and also hosts concerts, commencement exercises, and other events.

Features

Savage Arena features 33,000 square feet (3,100 m²) of space on its arena floor, large enough to accommodate an ice rink, an arena football field, a rodeo ring, five basketball courts, eight volleyball courts, five tennis courts, six racquetball courts, 22 badminton courts, and a 300-yard (274 m) indoor track. There is also a 48-by-56-foot (15 m × 17 m) portable stage. The Joe Grogan Room, which seats 200 for dinners, is located at the arena's south side, above the running track. The glass-enclosed room contains a lounge and a bar. More than $350,000 was spent on building and equipping the Joe Grogan Room. All funds for the room were raised through $5,000 pledges by members of the Rocket Club, the athletic department's main support group that now totals more than 1,000 members.

The arena is built with long span trusses that support the roof, 57 feet (17 m) above the arena floor. The trusses also support the arena's public address and ventilation systems, a catwalk system for service and maintenance, and the arena's center-court scoreboard. The arena is named for John F. Savage, a university alum (Class of 1952) who was instrumental in the arena's construction. The free span is 200 feet (61 m) from wall to wall. The building structure and wall systems are constructed of noncombustible material.

Men's basketball

In the first game played in Savage Arena, the men's basketball team defeated defending NCAA champion Indiana 59–57. With that win, the Rockets snapped Bobby Knight and the Hoosiers' 33-game winning streak. At Savage Hall, Toledo has beaten Ohio State, Xavier, Cincinnati, Houston and Pittsburgh.^{[ citation needed ]} The longest consecutive winning streak by the Rockets in Savage Arena is 16 games, during the 1978–79 season. During that streak, UT outscored opponents by an average of 17 points per game.^{[ citation needed ]} Between November 30, 1978 and December 1, 1981, the Rockets recorded a 45–3 (.938) home record. Prior to the 1985–86 season, they had lost back-to-back games at home only twice in 146 contests.

Toledo has won 73.5% of its games at home, posting a 312–112 record. During the first five years in Savage Arena, UT posted a 71–10 (.877) record, with a 15–1 mark in 1976–77 and 1978–79 and a 14–1 slate in 1979–80. Under former head coach Stan Joplin, the Rockets were 84–22 (.792) at Savage Arena. The Rockets have also ranked among the MAC leaders in attendance,^{[ citation needed ]} averaging 6,640 fans per game since the arena opened in 1976. In 2004, Toledo led the MAC with an average attendance of 5,292.

In 1980–81, the Rockets set a school record with 147,203 in total attendance, the 30th-best total in the nation,^[1] and during the 1999–2000 season the Rockets eclipsed the 2.5 million attendance mark in arena history.^{[ citation needed ]}

Other uses

In addition to the activity areas, Savage Arena contains athletic department offices, a reception area, press room, sports medicine and therapy rooms, laundry and equipment facilities and locker rooms with showers and saunas for both men and women. It is also the site of convocations and commencement ceremonies, as well as the occasional conventions.

The facility has hosted five Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournaments: 1985, 1987–1989, and 1995. In addition, the arena hosted U.S. President George W. Bush and Mexican president Vicente Fox in 2001. World Championship Wrestling used Savage Arena as its Toledo stop until its 2001 folding.

Among the many performers who have played Savage Arena over the years have been Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Yes (band), Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Boyz II Men, Steve Winwood, Rod Stewart, Phil Collins, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, Sheryl Crow, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Van Halen, Alabama, Charlie Daniels, The Judds, John Schneider and, more recently, Chris Brown, Katy Perry, The Black Keys, P!nk, Eric Church and American Idols Live!. Of note, Savage Arena hosted Crystal Bowersox's homecoming performance when it hosted the 2010 edition of the latter show. As part of their Promises Tour, the Christian rock band Sanctus Real had their homecoming concert at Savage Arena in 2013. Kiss performed at the arena during their 1997 Reunion Tour, a professionally shot recording of which has been widely bootlegged.

Renovation

On July 17, 2006, a gift of $5 million, the largest single gift ever made to the UT athletic department, was donated and earmarked for use on the new Savage Hall update project. These funds were used along with those obtained in a capital raising campaign in order to make major repairs and upgrades to the facility, including an all new athletic center. Final plans included new locker rooms, weight rooms, a pro shop, a Rocket Hall-of-Fame, new ticket offices and a professional office area, as well as revamping of the main arena area which modernized every aspect of the Savage Hall experience. The complex was also renamed Savage Arena. The renovations, which totaled $30 million, were completed in time for the 2008-09 basketball season.

There are also plans in the works to attach an enclosed indoor practice complex for both the basketball and football teams.

Related Research Articles

Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is a multi-purpose arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The building is the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL). It also serves as a secondary arena for Cleveland State Vikings men's and women's basketball.

The Pete Maravich Assembly Center is a 13,215-seat multi-purpose arena in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The arena opened in 1972. It was originally known as the LSU Assembly Center, but was renamed in honor of Pete Maravich, a Tiger basketball legend, shortly after his death in 1988. Louisiana governor Buddy Roemer signed an act to rename the building in Maravich's honor. Maravich never played in the arena as a collegian but played in it as a member of the Atlanta Hawks in a preseason game. But his exploits while at LSU led the university to build a larger home for the basketball team, which languished for decades in the shadow of the school's football program. The Maravich Center is known to locals as "The PMAC" or "Pete's Palace", or by its more nationally known nickname, "The Deaf Dome", coined by Dale Brown. The Maravich Center's neighbor, Tiger Stadium is known as "Death Valley".

Pan American Center is a multi–purpose arena in Las Cruces, New Mexico, located on the campus of New Mexico State University. The arena has a current seating capacity of 12,515 people.

The Earle A. & Virginia H. Chiles Center is a 4,852-seat multi-purpose arena in Portland, Oregon, USA. The arena opened in 1984. It is home to the University of Portland Pilots men's and women's basketball teams as well as the women's volleyball team. It hosted the West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament in 1992 and 2007. Starting with the 2023–2024 season, the Chiles Center hosts the Portland Trail Blazers' NBA G League team, the Rip City Remix.

The WVU Coliseum is a 14,000-seat multi-purpose arena located on the Evansdale campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. The circular arena features a poured concrete roof. It was built with state funds and replaced the WVU Fieldhouse, which seated 6,000.

The Fertitta Center, formerly known as Hofheinz Pavilion, is a 7,100-seat multi-purpose arena on the University of Houston campus in Houston. Located at 3875 Holman Street, it is home to the Houston Cougars men's and women's basketball teams and the women's volleyball team. The arena opened in 1967 as Hofheinz Pavilion, named after Roy Hofheinz and his late wife, Irene Cafcalas "Dene" Hofheinz, after they donated $1.5 million to help fund construction. Roy Hofheinz, known as Judge Hofheinz, was a UH alumnus and a Houston politician, businessman, and philanthropist. The arena is now named after restaurant magnate, Houston Rockets owner and UH alum Tilman Fertitta, who donated $20 million toward the complete renovation of the arena in 2016. The court is named for Hall of Fame and former Cougars coach Guy V. Lewis. Like many arenas of its kind, the seating bowl of Fertitta Center is dug into the ground so that one enters the building at the top of the bowl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convocation Center (Ohio University)</span> Arena in Ohio, United States

The Convocation Center is a 13,000-seat multi-purpose arena that is home to the Ohio Bobcats basketball, volleyball, and wrestling teams.

EagleBank Arena is a 10,000-seat arena in the eastern United States, on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, a suburb southwest of Washington, D.C.

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

Charles M. Murphy Athletic Center is the name of the main athletic department building at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The building opened December 11, 1972, and is named in honor of former athletics director Charles M. "Bubber" Murphy, a standout athlete at the college in the 1930s, who also served as head coach of Middle Tennessee State's football (1947–1968), basketball (1948–1949), and baseball programs.

The George Gervin GameAbove Center, formerly known as the Convocation Center, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment complex located on Eastern Michigan University’s west campus. Opened in 1998 as part of a campus upgrade initiative, the George Gervin GameAbove Center is a 204,316-square-foot (18,981.6 m²) structure that features three levels including arena, concourse, and office. The arena also has multiple seating configurations to maximize space usage.

Daskalakis Athletic Center (DAC) is a 300,000 square feet (28,000 m²) athletic and recreational facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Rapides Parish Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena located on Louisiana Highway 28 West in Alexandria, Louisiana. The coliseum can seat up to 10,000 people in the 65,000-square-foot (6,000 m²) building. Additional space is in the smaller Exhibition Hall, also on the property. Built in 1965 by Buddy Tudor's family-owned construction company in Pineville with foreman Pete Honeycutt along with the senior Tudor directing the construction. The dome-topped coliseum has hosted thousands of events, including music concerts, "monster" truck shows, professional wrestling, trade shows and sporting events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fitzgerald Field House</span> Sports venue in Pennsylvania, United States

Fitzgerald Field House is a 4,122-seat multi-purpose athletic venue on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Fitzgerald Field House is named for Rufus Fitzgerald, a past chancellor (1945–1955) of the university. It is the primary home competition venue for the university's gymnastics, volleyball, and wrestling teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinkle Fieldhouse</span> Historic indoor arena in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.

Hinkle Fieldhouse is a basketball arena on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Completed in early 1928, it was the largest basketball arena in the United States until 1950. The facility was renamed Hinkle Fieldhouse in 1966 in honor of Butler's longtime coach and athletic director, Paul D. "Tony" Hinkle. It is the sixth-oldest college basketball arena still in use. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1987, Hinkle Fieldhouse is sometimes referred to as "Indiana's Basketball Cathedral."

The Toledo Rockets are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Toledo. The Rockets compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The school's colors are midnight blue and gold.

The Michael J. Hagan Arena of Saint Joseph's University is SJU's home court for men's and women's basketball. The new arena seats 4,200, which is 1,000 more than the Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse seated. The renovation adds a concourse, larger offices and locker rooms, a Hall of Fame room, study rooms, basketball center, and practice facilities. 700 seats were added to the student section which puts the total at 1,700 and makes this part of the arena even more intimidating for opposing teams.

The Samford Bulldogs are the 17 varsity teams that represent Samford University in NCAA Division I athletics. The men's basketball team made its first NCAA Tournament appearances in 1999 and 2000. They were led by Reed Rawlings, Marc Salyers, and Chris Weaver. The women's basketball team made its initial NCAA tournament appearance in the 2011 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament and made its second consecutive appearance in the tournament in 2012. The baseball team made its first NCAA tournament appearance in the 2012 NCAA Division I baseball tournament, reaching the finals of the Tallahassee Regional. Additionally, the softball team made its first NCAA Tournament Appearance in 2016. For the first time in history, the Lady Bulldogs won the regular-season championship as well as the Tournament Championship to cap off a record high of 40 wins on the season. The school is a member of the Southern Conference in Division I of the NCAA, after moving from the Ohio Valley Conference in 2008. The Samford Athletics staff is headed by athletic director Martin Newton, whose appointment was announced on March 9, 2011.

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

The Stroh Center is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. It replaced Anderson Arena as the home of the Bowling Green Falcons men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball teams, and hosts music concerts and the university's commencement ceremonies. The arena was designed by the architectural firm Rossetti Architects, designers of Red Bull Arena and Rio Tinto Stadium, and engineering firm URS Group Inc. The building opened in September 2011 and seats 4,387 people for basketball and volleyball games and 5,209 for convocation events and concerts.

College Park Center (CPC) is an indoor, multi-purpose arena on the University of Texas at Arlington campus in Arlington, Texas, United States. It seats up to 7,000 spectators.

The Pit is an indoor arena in Albuquerque, New Mexico, serving primarily as the home venue of the University of New Mexico Lobos basketball teams. The facility opened in 1966 as University Arena but gained the nickname "The Pit" due to its innovative subterranean design, with its playing floor 37 feet (11 m) below street level. The arena is located on the UNM South Campus and has a seating capacity of 15,411 for basketball and up to 13,480 for concerts, with 40 luxury suites and 365 club seats.

References

↑ "John F. Savage Arena". University of Toledo Athletics. 2007-10-03. Retrieved 28 June 2024.

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
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.

[1] "John F. Savage Arena". University of Toledo Athletics. 2007-10-03. Retrieved 28 June 2024.

[1]

v t e Toledo Rockets men's basketball
Venues	The Field House (1931–1976) Savage Arena (1976–present)
Culture & lore	Point-shaving scandal
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 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

v t e University of Toledo
Located in: Toledo, Ohio
Academics	Colleges: Arts and Letters Business and Innovation Judith Herb College of Education Engineering Graduate Studies Health and Human Services Jesup Scott Honors College Law Medicine and Life Sciences Natural Sciences and Mathematics Nursing Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences University College Other: University of Toledo Research Enterprise
Athletics	Toledo Rockets Football Baseball Men's basketball Women's basketball Glass Bowl Scott Park Baseball Complex Savage Arena Mid-American Conference
Campus	Phi Kappa Phi Tau Beta Pi Brooks Observatory Ritter Observatory R. A. Stranahan Arboretum Toledo Museum of Art
Life	The Independent Collegian WXUT
People	List of University of Toledo people Presidents
Founded: 1872 Students: 23,085 Endowment: 416.2 million