Keaney Gymnasium is a 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 ...

Kingston, Rhode Island Kingston is a village and a census-designated place within the town of South Kingstown in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, and the site of the main campus of the University of Rhode Island. The population was 6,974 at the 201 ...

, United States on the campus of the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Isla ...

. Built in 1953, it was the home of the university's men's and women's basketball teams until they moved to the adjacent

Ryan Center Ryan Center is an 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Kingston, Rhode Island. The arena opened as a replacement for Keaney Gymnasium, which was built in 1953 for the needs of a much smaller student population at URI. It is home to the University o ...

in 2002. It is currently the home of the university's volleyball team.

History

The arena opened in 1953 and seats 3,385 (plus room for 500 standing-room only spectators). The arena was named in honor of Rhode Island football coach, chemistry professor, basketball coach and athletic director

Frank Keaney Frank William "Menty" Keaney (June 5, 1886 – October 10, 1967) was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach and college athletics administrator. As a college men's basketball coach, he was known as the architect of modern "run-and-sh ...

. Seating is in a two-tiered arrangement, with the top tier being "U"-shaped. At the west end of the arena there are bleachers in the former stage area of the building. The arena hosted the NCAA basketball tournament first-round games for three years, from 1967 to 1969. Designed by

Oresto DiSaia Oresto DiSaia (1900-1976) was a notable Italian-American architect from Providence, Rhode Island. He was well known as an architect of large churches, theatres and other buildings. Life and career Oresto DiSaia was born January 22, 1900, in Provi ...

, it was built to replace Rodman Hall, a castle-like building built in 1928, located across the street from the present library. Rodman Hall currently houses the school's library sciences, landscape architecture, and journalism departments.

Concerts

In addition to its role as a basketball and volleyball arena, the gymnasium also once hosted concerts for the university's students. Past performers include The Band (1970),

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...

(1970), Joe Cocker (1970),

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

(1970),

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

(1971 and 1973), Fairport Convention and

Traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffi ...

(1971), Cat Stevens and

Mimi Fariña Margarita Mimi Baez Fariña (April 30, 1945 – July 18, 2001) was an American singer-songwriter and activist, the youngest of three daughters to a Scottish mother and Mexican-American physicist Albert Baez. She was the younger sister of t ...

(1971),

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla". The band h ...

(1971),

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

(1971), New Riders of the Purple Sage (1972),

Jim Croce James Joseph Croce (; January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was an American folk and rock singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, he released five studio albums and numerous singles. During this period, Croce took a series of odd jobs to p ...

(1973), Bruce Springsteen (1973),

The Flying Burrito Brothers The Flying Burrito Brothers are an American country rock band, best known for their influential 1969 debut album, ''The Gilded Palace of Sin''. Although the group is perhaps best known for its connection to band founders Gram Parsons and Chris ...

(1975),

A Flock of Seagulls A Flock of Seagulls are an English new wave band formed in Liverpool in 1979. The group, whose best-known line-up comprised Mike Score, Ali Score, Frank Maudsley and Paul Reynolds, hit the peak of their chart success in the early 1980s. The ...

(1982), Squeeze (1982 and 1987), Elvis Costello and

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and New wave music, new wave,Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

(1989 and 2002),

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

(1990),

The Alarm The Alarm are a Welsh rock band that formed in Rhyl, Wales, in 1981. Initially formed as a punk band, the Toilets, in 1977, under lead vocalist Mike Peters, the band soon embraced arena rock and included marked influences from Welsh languag ...

and

The Fixx The Fixx are a rock band from London, England, founded in 1979. The band's hits include " One Thing Leads to Another", " Saved by Zero", " Are We Ourselves?", and " Secret Separation", each of which charted in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot ...

(1992),

Violent Femmes Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano (guitar, lead vocals) and Brian Ritchie (bass, backing vocals), joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza (joined 200 ...

(1992 and 1996), and

Evanescence Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer and musician Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording independent EPs as a duo in the late 90's, and a demo CD, Evanescence released their debut ...

(2007).

References

External links

Keaney Gym at GoRhody.com
College basketball venues in the United States Sports venues in Rhode Island Rhode Island Rams basketball venues Defunct college basketball venues in the United States Indoor arenas in Rhode Island Sports venues in Washington County, Rhode Island 1953 establishments in Rhode Island Sports venues completed in 1953 College volleyball venues in the United States {{RhodeIsland-sports-venue-stub