| Stephen C. O'Connell Center | |
|---|---|
| "The O-Dome" | |
 |
|
| Location | North-South Dr Gainesville, FL 32611 |
| Broke ground | Fall, 1977 |
| Opened | December 30, 1980 |
| Owner | Univ. of Florida |
| Operator | Univ. of Florida |
| Construction cost | $14 million |
| Architect | Jim Hughes |
| Tenants | Florida Gators (Men's and Women's Basketball, Gymnastics, Volleyball, Indoor Track, Swimming & Diving) |
| Capacity | 12,000 |
The Stephen C. O'Connell Center, popularly nicknamed the "O-Dome" is a 12,000-seat multi-purpose arena at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. The facility is named for Stephen C. O'Connell, a former University of Florida President. It is situated between the west side of football's Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and the east side of baseball's McKethan Stadium. The arena opened in 1980. Renovations in 1998 replaced the inflatable Teflon-coated fabric with a permanent, hard shell dome on top of the structure. In 2006, the arena undertook an overhaul of the four scoreboards located above the entrances to Gates 1-4. Instead of displaying information and advertisements, the scoreboards are now used for live instant replays for events inside the arena. The arena, which is the fourth on-campus home of the Gators, replaced the old Florida Gymnasium, nicknamed "Alligator Alley," which was the home of the Gators for the previous 31 seasons and is still located to the east of the football stadium.
It is home to the University of Florida Gators men's and women's basketball, volleyball, indoor track, gymnastics, swimming and diving teams. ESPN The Magazine nicknamed it the "House of Horrors" in 1999, a name that the sports teams began using promotionally a few years later. The student section of the stadium has been dubbed the "Rowdy Reptiles". ESPN commentator Dick Vitale said, on assignment at the Florida vs. Kentucky game in 2006, that the Rowdy Reptiles make the O-Dome one of the toughest places to play in college basketball. Following the men's basketball team's victory in the national title game of the 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, the UF athletic department bought the temporary hardwood floor that had been installed in the Indianapolis RCA Dome for the Final Four. Although the national finals logos will be removed by sanding, the basketball teams will now play on the same lumber on which the Gators won their first basketball National Championship. The Gators also bought the court used to win their second title from the Georgia Dome, and displayed it in the O'Connell Center during their championship celebration event, but will sell it afterwards in pieces to raise funds for scholarships [1]. On December 23rd, 2006, a record crowd of 12,621 watched the 5th ranked Gators defeat the 3rd ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, 86-60. The two teams would meet again that season for the National Championship game, with the Gators, once again, emerging victorious as the first back-to-back National Champions since Duke in the early 90s.
External links
- Official website
- Stephen C. O'Connell Center In-depth history of the arena from the official Florida Gators website.
|
|
|
|---|---|
| Eastern | Colonial Center (South Carolina) • Memorial Coliseum (Kentucky women) • Memorial Gymnasium (Vanderbilt) • Rupp Arena (Kentucky men) • Stegeman Coliseum (Georgia) • Stephen C. O'Connell Center (Florida) • Thompson-Boling Arena (Tennessee) |
| Western | Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum (Auburn) • Bud Walton Arena (Arkansas) • Coleman Coliseum (Alabama) • Humphrey Coliseum (Mississippi State) • Maravich Assembly Center (LSU) • Tad Smith Coliseum (Ole Miss) |
- Stephen C. O'Connell Center is at coordinates Coordinates:
