Harry A. Gampel Pavilion is a 10,167-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 ...

Storrs, Connecticut Storrs is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the New England town, town of Mansfield, Connecticut, Mansfield in eastern Tolland County, Connecticut, Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 15,344 at the 2010 Unite ...

, United States, on the campus of the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

(UConn). The arena opened on January 21, 1990, and is the largest on-campus arena in New England. It was named after industrialist and 1943 UConn graduate Harry A. Gampel, a philanthropist who walked with Martin Luther King Jr., and who donated $1 million for the construction of the arena. It is about . Gampel Pavilion is the primary home to the

UConn Huskies men's basketball The UConn Huskies men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball team of the University of Connecticut, in Storrs, Connecticut. They currently play in the Big East Conference (Big East) and are coached by Dan Hurley. The Husk ...

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...

, and women's volleyball teams. For most of the time since the late 1990s, the men's basketball team has played most of their more important games at the

XL Center The XL Center (originally known as the Hartford Civic Center) is a multi-purpose arena and convention center located in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. Owned by the City of Hartford, it is managed by the quasi-public Capital Region Development ...

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

. During the 2011–12 season, the men's basketball team played 11 home games in Hartford and only eight at Gampel. The pavilion is the centerpiece of the UConn Sports Center, which also includes Wolff-Zackin Natatorium.

Construction

It replaced the Hugh S. Greer Field House, which only held 4,604 people and still stands to the northwest of the pavilion. The facility has been expanded three times. As originally constructed, it seated 8,241. After the 1995–96 season, 1,900 seats were added around the entrances, increasing capacity to 10,027. A seating adjustment after the 2001–02 season added 140 more seats to result in the current capacity. In the summer of 2017 a project began to replace the aging roof, which was completed in October 2017. During that time, the volleyball team played some of its fall home games in Greer Field House.

First game

The first basketball game was played on January 27, 1990, between the then 20th-ranked Huskies and the 15th-ranked St. John's Redmen (now Red Storm). UConn won 72–58.

Home court advantage

Since 1990 through 2022 the Huskies men's basketball team has a 210–40 record at Gampel Pavilion. Source:

International basketball games

Banners

The banners for the men's and women's basketball teams have been taken down and in their place are now large boards on the walls listing the years the teams have made the NIT, NCAA Tournament, Sweet 16, and Elite 8, along with their Big East Regular Season and Tournament Championships. The National Championship Banners and NIT Championship Banners have been replaced with newer versions, along with banners commemorating

Jim Calhoun James A. Calhoun (born May 10, 1942) is a longtime college basketball coach. He is best known for his tenure as head coach of the University of Connecticut (UConn) men's basketball team. His teams won three NCAA national championships ( 1999, ...

and

Geno Auriemma Luigi "Geno" Auriemma (born March 23, 1954) is an Italian-born American college basketball coach and, since 1985, the head coach of the University of Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team. , he has led UConn to 17 undefeated conference sea ...

's Hall of Fame inductions. Located throughout the concourse of Gampel Pavilion are plaques recognizing the

Huskies of Honor Huskies of Honor is a recognition program sponsored by the University of Connecticut (UConn). Similar to a hall of fame, it honors the most significant figures in the history of the UConn Huskies—the university's athletic teams—espe ...

, a recognition program that began in 2006 and honors the most significant figures in the history of the UConn basketball programs.

References