The O'Reilly Family Event Center, or The O', is a sports arena on the campus of

Drury University Drury University, formerly Drury College and originally Springfield College, is a private university in Springfield, Missouri, United States. The university's mission statement describes itself as "church-related". It enrolls about 1,590 undergr ...

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

. O'Reilly is home to the

Drury Panthers The Drury Panthers are the athletic teams that represent Drury University, located in Springfield, Missouri, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Panthers compete as members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference for all 21 varsity sport ...

men's basketball, women's basketball, and volleyball teams. In addition to Drury athletics, O’Reilly has also hosted concerts along with boxing and MMA matches. The arena can seat 2,850 for basketball and volleyball games and up to 3,592 for concerts. The facility is named after the O'Reilly family of

O'Reilly Auto Parts O’Reilly Automotive, Inc., doing business as O’Reilly Auto Parts, is an American automotive part retailer that provides automotive parts, tools, supplies, equipment, and accessories to professional service providers and do-it-yourself custome ...

Construction and opening

On December 19, 2007, Drury University officials announced that their new basketball arena was going to be named after the O'Reilly family of Springfield after they donated $6 million towards the arena which was then budgeted at $12 million. Drury University basketball and volleyball had previously called Weiser Gym home since 1948, which is currently home to Men's Wrestling. The arena was originally expected to be completed by fall 2009 and seat 4,000 spectators (reduced to 3,100 by November 2008). After fundraising delays, O'Reilly's groundbreaking ceremony was held on May 15, 2009, as its budget increased to $13.5 million. In January 2010, the arena reached

LEED Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, constructio ...

status—the first sports arena in the United States to receive the award. O'Reilly's funding gap was filled with a $500,000 donation on May 12, 2010. O'Reilly Family Event Center celebrated its grand opening on October 1, 2010. The grand opening included a concert by Springfield-based The M-Dock Band. October 8, 2010 marked the first intercollegiate matchup at O'Reilly as the Drury volleyball team played

Missouri S&T Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T or S&T) is a Public university, public research university in Rolla, Missouri. It is a member institution of the University of Missouri System. Most of its 6,456 students (2023) study ...

; the Panthers lost 3–1.

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

was to perform a concert at O'Reilly on October 30, but canceled due to health concerns. November 13, 2010 marked the first regular season basketball games at the arena for both Drury women's and men's basketball as the women fell to Northeastern State and the men defeated Upper Iowa.

Regional tournaments

As of 2024, O'Reilly has hosted six NCAA Division II regionals for men's basketball, women's basketball, and volleyball, five of which have been won by Drury University. Drury Women's Basketball, who went undefeated at 32–0 for the 2019–20 season, was set to host the 2020 Midwest Regional, but the

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

for that season was canceled as it coincided with the beginning of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Men's basketball

Women's basketball

Volleyball

Special events

Concerts and speakers

Throughout its history, O'Reilly has hosted many concerts ranging from small, local bands to world-renowned groups and singers. Some well-known bands and singers who have performed at O'Reilly include:

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is noted for her Optimism, optimistic and Idealism, idealistic subject matter, and incorporation of genres including Rock music, rock, Po ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon), or simply REO, was an American Rock music, rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial suc ...

(ft.

Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; ; lit. "Shuddering"), also called the River Styx, is a goddess and one of the rivers of the Greek Underworld. Her parents were the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, and she was the wife of the Titan Pallas and the moth ...

and

Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He goes by several nicknames, including Uncle Ted, the Nuge, and Motor City Madman. Nugent initially gained fame as the le ...

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...

Incubus An Incubus () is a demon, male demon in human form in folklore that seeks to have Sexuality in Christian demonology, sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. Parallels exist in many c ...

, and

The Steve Miller Band The Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1966. The band is led by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. The group had a string of mid- to late-1970s hit singles that are staples of classic rock rad ...

3 Doors Down 3 Doors Down is an American Rock music, rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi that formed in 1996. The band's music is described as post-grunge, alternative rock, and hard rock. The band's 2000 debut single "Kryptonite (3 Doors Down song), Kr ...

and

Asking Alexandria Asking Alexandria are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates and now based in York, York, North Yorkshire, consisting of guitarist Cameron Liddell, drummer James Cassells, vocalist Danny Worsnop, and bas ...

have performed opening acts for O'Reilly concerts. While O'Reilly has not seen many speakers, animal scientist

Temple Grandin Mary Temple Grandin (born August 29, 1947) is an American academic, inventor, and ethologist. She is a prominent proponent of the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter and the author of more than 60 scientific papers on animal behavior. ...

notably spoke there in front of around 2,500 spectators on March 3, 2011.

Boxing and MMA

Multiple combat sporting events have taken place at the O'Reilly Family Event Center, particularly during its first years of operation. Missouri native

BJ Flores Benjamin "BJ" Flores (born January 29, 1979) is an American former professional boxer and a current boxing trainer. He challenged once for the WBC cruiserweight world title in 2016, and twice for interim world titles at cruiserweight and heavyw ...

fought at O'Reilly twice during his career. Winner in bold

References

{{reflist

External links

O'Reilly Family Event Center Concerts and Events
Google Sheets 2010 establishments in Missouri Buildings and structures in Springfield, Missouri College basketball venues in Missouri Drury Panthers Music venues in Missouri Sports venues completed in 2010 Sports venues in Springfield, Missouri