United Supermarkets Arena (previously the United Spirit Arena) is a multipurpose

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 ...

on the campus of Texas Tech University in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

. The 15,300-seat arena opened in 1999 and is home to the

Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball The Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team represents Texas Tech University in basketball. Texas Tech competes in NCAA Division I, and has been a charter member of the Big 12 Conference since its first season in 1996. The team previously compet ...

Texas Tech Lady Raiders basketball The Texas Tech Lady Raiders basketball team represents Texas Tech University and competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I. History The 1975–76 season saw the debut of women's basketball at Texas Tech University. In 1993, the tea ...

, and Texas Tech Red Raiders women's volleyball teams.

History

The City of Lubbock proposed replacing the

Lubbock Municipal Coliseum Lubbock Municipal Coliseum (formerly City Bank Coliseum) was an 8,344-seat multi-purpose arena in Lubbock, Texas. Although the arena was located on the campus of Texas Tech University, it was owned and operated by the City of Lubbock until 2018. ...

with a new arena named after

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

. The proposed Buddy Holly Arena was to be located next to the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center in downtown Lubbock, not on the Texas Tech University campus. A public referendum for a tax increase to build the arena failed to pass by as few as 600 votes. Texas Tech decided to move construction to an on-campus facility with private donations on the university's campus. The arena was financed from a $500 million fundraising endeavor undertaken by

John T. Montford John Thomas Montford (born June 28, 1943) is a business consultant in San Antonio, Texas, who is a former member of the Texas State Senate from District 28, based about Lubbock in West Texas. He is a former district attorney for Lubbock County a ...

, the first chancellor of the

Texas Tech University System The Texas Tech University System is a state university system in Texas consisting of five universities in the state of Texas, of which three are general-academic universities, Texas Tech University, Angelo State University and Midwestern State Un ...

. Groundbreaking began on March 26, 1997. The arena opened on October 1, 1999, at a cost of $62.775 million. With a total of 15,300 seats, United Supermarkets Arena is slated to become the largest indoor collegiate sports arena in the state, pending the proposed demolition of

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

Frank Erwin Center The Frank C. Erwin Jr. Center (commonly known as Frank Erwin Center or UT Erwin Center and originally Special Events Center) is an inactive multi-purpose arena located on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin in Austin, Texas. It is also ...

Design

The arena features a

Spanish Renaissance The Spanish Renaissance was a movement in Spain, emerging from the Italian Renaissance in Italy during the 14th century, that spread to Spain during the 15th and 16th centuries. This new focus in art, literature, quotes and science inspired b ...

exterior facade, matching architectural style of the rest of the Texas Tech University campus. Architects for the project included Joe D. McKay AIA Architects, and

Rosser International Rosser International was an architectural and engineering firm formed from the acquisition of FABRAP by the Atlanta engineering firm Rosser White Hobbs Davidson McClellan Kelly. The firm ceased operations around June 2019. Buildings *Memphis Pyram ...

Hill International Hill International, Inc. is an American construction consulting firm. Founded in 1976, the company's corporate headquarters are in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. Hill provides program and project management, construction management, cost engi ...

was the project manager, and the general contractor was Centex Construction Co. Standing at the southeast entrance of the arena is the eight-story Victory Tower. At , Victory Tower is the 16th-tallest structure in Lubbock. File:UnitedSpiritArena.jpg, The arena at night File:United SpiritArena.jpg, Inside United Supermarkets Arena prior to a graduation ceremony File:United Spirit Arena, Lubbock, TX.JPG, Victory Tower at the southeast entrance

Naming rights

Lubbock-based supermarket chain

United Supermarkets United Supermarkets, d.b.a. The United Family is an American supermarket chain. With headquarters in Lubbock, Texas, its roots go back to 1916, when H.D. Snell opened his first United Cash Store in Sayre, Oklahoma. The chain has grown to includ ...

purchased the naming rights to the facility under a 20-year, $10 million naming-rights agreement with Texas Tech University in 1996. Until 2014, the arena was known as United Spirit Arena. Following a 10-year, $9.45 million naming-rights extension, the arena was renamed United Supermarkets Arena. Funds from the 10-year naming rights extension will go towards facility renovations.

Usage

Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball

* The first basketball game was played in the arena on November 19, 1999. The Texas Tech Red Raiders lost 68–60 to the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the Nationa ...

, coached by

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

inductee

Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (born October 25, 1940) is an American former basketball coach. Nicknamed "the General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all-ti ...

, who would later become the head coach of Red Raiders basketball team. * On January 1, 2007, a 70–68 defeat of the

New Mexico Lobos The New Mexico Lobos are the athletic teams that represent the University of New Mexico, located in Albuquerque. The university participates in the NCAA Division I in the Mountain West Conference (MW) since 1999, after leaving the Western Athle ...

by the Texas Tech Red Raiders marked the 880th total win for Bob Knight, making him the winningest coach in men's college basketball history. * A

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

record for student attendance was set February 25, 2014, against Kansas State.

NCAA Tournaments

NCAA Division I Women's Basketball First and Second Rounds:

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Gymnastics

On October 2, 2016, the arena hosted the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions.

WNBA

On May 4, 2007, the

Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...

with former Lady Raiders

Sheryl Swoopes Sheryl Denise Swoopes (born March 25, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player. She was the first player to be signed in the WNBA, is a three-time WNBA MVP, and was named one of the league's Top 15 Players of All Time at the 20 ...

and Erin Grant played a

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

exhibition game against the

Detroit Shock The Detroit Shock were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006, and 2008 WNBA champions. Debuting in 1998, the Shock were one of the league's first expansion franchises. ...

with

Plenette Pierson Plenette Michelle Pierson (born August 31, 1981) is a retired American professional basketball player who last played for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). In the 2007 season, Pierson won the first ever S ...

, also a former Lady Raider.

WWE

United Supermarkets Arena hosted

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

Raw (the first Raw ever to be hosted in Lubbock) in May 2006.

Concerts

References

External links

Official Website

{{Authority control Basketball venues in Texas College basketball venues in the United States College volleyball venues in the United States Gymnastics venues in Texas Indoor arenas in Texas Music venues in Lubbock, Texas Texas Tech Lady Raiders basketball venues Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball venues Basketball venues in Lubbock, Texas Volleyball venues in Texas Sports venues completed in 1999 1999 establishments in Texas