Arena-Auditorium is a 11,612-seat multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

Laramie, Wyoming Laramie is a city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States. The population was estimated 32,711 in 2019, making it the third-largest city in Wyoming after Cheyenne and Casper. Located on the Laramie River in southeastern ...

. The arena opened in 1982 and has since been the home of the University of

Wyoming Cowboys basketball The University of Wyoming men's basketball program, which competes in the Mountain West Conference, has a lengthy tradition dating back to 1905. Wyoming won the 1943 NCAA championship under Hall of Fame coach Everett Shelton and behind star gu ...

team, as well as home to the Cowgirls basketball team since 2003.Arena-Auditorium
at wyomingathletics.com, URL accessed November 7, 2009
Archived
11/7/09 It replaced the previous home of Cowboys basketball,

War Memorial Fieldhouse War Memorial Fieldhouse is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Laramie, Wyoming. It opened in 1951 along with War Memorial Stadium. It currently hosts the school's wrestling and indoor track and field programs. It was home to the University of ...

. Nicknamed the "Pimple on the Prairie, "Dome of Doom" and the "Double A," the Arena-Auditorium is the highest

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

college basketball court in the nation, built at an elevation of 7,220 ft (2,201 m). The facility hosted the 1986 and 1991

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

men's basketball tournaments. It also hosted the West Regional of the 2006

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

Tournament.UNI Nabs Four No. 1 Seeds for NCAA West Regional
at unipanthers.com, URL accessed November 7, 2009
Archived
11/7/09 The largest crowd to watch a basketball game at the Arena-Auditorium was on March 2, 2002 when Wyoming played

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

in men's basketball. Wyoming won that game by a final score of 57–56 in front of 16,089 people.Link text
at utahutes.cstv.com, URL accessed November 7, 2009
Archived
11/7/09 In 2007 the Cowgirls hosted 5

Women's National Invitation Tournament The Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) is a women's national college basketball tournament with a preseason and postseason version played every year. It is operated in a similar fashion to the men's college National Invitation Tournam ...

(WNIT) games at the Double A, plus the March 31st WNIT championship game in which Wyoming beat the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisi ...

72–56.2007 Postseason
at womensnit.com, URL accessed November 7, 2009
Archived
11/7/09 For the title game against Wisconsin, the women's basketball team sold out the Double A in less than 14 hours following their semi-final victory against

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

. The 15,462 in attendance was largest crowd ever for a women's basketball game played at the University of Wyoming, as well as the second biggest crowd ever at the Double ACowgirls are WNIT Champions!
at wyomingathletics.com, URL accessed November 7, 2009
Archived
11/7/09 and second biggest in WNIT tournament history.Postseason WNIT Attendance Records
at womensnit.com, URL accessed November 7, 2009
Archived
11/7/09 Then-Senator

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

spoke to a capacity crowd at the Double A on March 7, 2008. The speech was as a part of the future President's campaign to win the

Wyoming Democratic Party The Wyoming Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in Wyoming, headquartered in Cheyenne. The party was strong during Wyoming's territorial days but suffered a decline in its early statehood. It rose to prominence again from th ...

caucus, which he did win the following day.

References

{{Mountain West Conference basketball venue navbox Basketball venues in Wyoming Buildings and structures in Laramie, Wyoming College basketball venues in the United States College wrestling venues in the United States Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls basketball venues Sports venues completed in 1982 Tourist attractions in Laramie, Wyoming Wrestling venues in Wyoming 1982 establishments in Wyoming

See also

References