The Wisconsin Field House (commonly known as the UW Field House) 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 ...

owned by the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

and located directly south of

Camp Randall Stadium Camp Randall Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, located on the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of Wisconsin. It has been the home of the Wisconsin Badgers football team in rudimentary form since 1895 ...

. In addition to sports events, the Field House has been the site of large community gatherings such as convocations and concerts. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1998. with

History

The UW began supporting team sporting events in the 1800s. In 1892 the university completed the Red Gym for indoor sports, and in 1893 it bought

Camp Randall Camp Randall was a United States Army base in Madison, Wisconsin, the largest staging point for Wisconsin troops entering the American Civil War. At this camp fresh volunteers received quick training before heading off to join the Union Army. Also ...

to use as playing fields. Basketball was played at the UW beginning 1898 and grew in popularity, but the Red Gym seated only 2240 spectators, and was referred to as "the little cigar box gym." In 1925 the UW regents began discussing a larger space. With pushing from athletic director George Little the new UW Field House was dedicated in 1930. William F. Stevens and John Knudsen designed it in

Renaissance Revival style Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...

, working under

State Architect Many national governments and states have a public official titled the state architect or government architect. The specific duties and areas of responsibility of state architects vary, but they generally involve responsibility for the design and ...

Arthur Peabody Arthur Peabody (November 16, 1858 – September 6, 1942) was the campus architect for the University of Wisconsin from 1905 to 1915 and the state architect of Wisconsin from 1915 to 1938. Peabody was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He graduated fr ...

. That style and the Madison sandstone which covers the exterior align with a master plan for the UW campus that Peabody had laid out with Warren Laird and

Paul Cret Paul Philippe Cret (October 23, 1876 – September 8, 1945) was a French-born Philadelphia architect and industrial designer. For more than thirty years, he taught at a design studio in the Department of Architecture at the University of Pennsylv ...

in 1909, loosely matching the style of the campus's earliest buildings North Hall, South Hall, and

Bascom Hall Bascom may refer to: Places and sites ;United States * Bascom, Florida * Bascom Corner, Indiana * Bascom, Montana * Bascom, Ohio * Bascom, Texas * North American Farms Airport, Bascom Auxiliary Field * Bascom B. Clarke House * Bascom Hill, Universi ...

. The Field House has a concrete foundation, a steel framework within concrete walls clad in sandstone and decorated with dressed and carved

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

, and a gable roof covered with red clay tiles. The simple interior design of two large galleries worked so well that it influenced the design of other field houses. The new Field House opened in 1930, with 9000 attending a dedication and a basketball game against Pennsylvania. It housed a successful college boxing program from 1933 until 1960. It hosted the 1941 NCAA basketball tournament East Regionals, won by the Badgers, who would go on to win the national title that year in Kansas City. It is where in 1941 the UW President told the students about the bombing of

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

. In 1945 it hosted a celebration of Germany's surrender. It was home to 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 ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

before that team moved to

Kohl Center The Kohl Center is an arena and athletic center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, United States. The building, which opened in 1998, is the home of the university's men's basketball and ice hockey teams, and the women's basketball team. ...

. Currently the building is used by the

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

and

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 ...

teams. The Wisconsin volleyball team got its first-ever sellout on October 21, 2007, when they hosted No. 1

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

. When the Field House opened in 1929, a single level of seating provided a capacity of 8,000. A balcony added in 1939 brought the capacity to 12,000. Later renovations reduced capacity to 10,600 for basketball. After the men's and women's basketball teams moved to the

in 1998, the balcony was closed due to concerns over code violations, giving a reduced capacity of 6,012. Recent sellouts for women's volleyball matches prompted plans for renovating and reopening several sideline sections of the balcony, allowing a capacity of 7,052 for women's volleyball. A project to refurbish the exterior facade, replace windows, and create a pedestrian plaza between the Field House and Regent Street began in April 2020 and was substantially complete by the fall of 2020. The "W" crest at the top of the Field House, whose actual designer is unknown, is frequently employed as the emblem of the

Trivia

The Field House hosted

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

home playoff games in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

and

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

, along with a variety of Wisconsin high school sports events.

References

External links

The Fieldhouse on UWBadgers.com

from ''Wisconsin Builder'' {{Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball navbox College volleyball venues in the United States University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin Basketball venues in Wisconsin Wisconsin Badgers basketball venues Defunct college basketball venues in the United States Sports venues in Madison, Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Madison, Wisconsin 1930 establishments in Wisconsin Sports venues completed in 1930 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four venues

History

Trivia

References

Further reading

External links