Pioneer Hall is a building on the campus of

Texas Woman's University Texas Woman's University (TWU) is a Public research university, public coeducational research university in Denton, Texas, with two health science center-focused campuses in Dallas and Houston. While TWU has been fully co-educational since 1994, ...

Denton, Texas Denton is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, Denton County. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the List of cities in Texas by population, 20th-most populous city in Texas, the List of Un ...

, that is the home of the TWU Pioneers basketball, gymnastics, and volleyball teams as well as numerous fitness facilities, classrooms, and offices. Groundbreaking occurred on March 8, 1996, and the $15.5 million facility was completed by spring 1997. It was dedicated in 1998, and, as of 2013, was the most recently constructed building on TWU's campus. The facility was designed as a three-story, brick building that features a prominent gray-domed

rotunda A rotunda () is any roofed building with a circular ground plan, and sometimes covered by a dome. It may also refer to a round room within a building (an example being the one below the dome of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.). ...

. Pioneer Hall is the home of Kitty Magee Arena, a multipurpose gymnasium that hosts the University's intercollegiate

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 (appro ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

, and

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 ...

teams. The Arena also hosts other athletic events, including TWU

intramural Intramural sports are recreational sports organized within a particular institution, usually an educational institution, for the purpose of fun and exercise. The term, which is chiefly North American, derives from the Latin words ''intra muros'' m ...

and recreational sports, high school basketball and volleyball, and summer camps. In addition, it is the site of TWU's commencement ceremonies. Magee Arena's standard seating capacity is 1,800, although this can be increased up to 2,700. The facility, which was named in honor of TWU athletics innovator Kitty Winter Magee, has been renovated twice; in 2005, when new lighting was installed, and in 2009, when its floor was replaced. Pioneer Hall also includes an indoor

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

racquetball Racquetball is a racquet sport and a team sport played with a hollow rubber ball on an indoor or outdoor court. Joseph Sobek invented the modern sport of racquetball in 1950, adding a stringed racquet to paddleball in order to increase vel ...

courts, and a

running track An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, v ...

, in addition to serving as the home of TWU's Kinesiology Department. Other TWU departments and programs housed in the building include Conference Services, Dance, and Fitness and Recreation. Its fitness facilities are available to TWU students without charge and are also open to fee-paying members of the public. In addition to Magee Arena and the swimming pool, the first floor includes an athletic training room, team locker rooms, and classrooms (including seminar rooms). The second floor is home to TWU's Intercollegiate Athletics offices as well as the Department of Kinesiology; also on the second floor are academic offices, additional classrooms, the racquetball courts, a

climbing wall A climbing wall is an artificially constructed wall with manufactured grips (or "holds") for the hands and feet. Most walls are located indoors, and climbing on such walls is often termed indoor climbing. Some walls are brick or wooden constr ...

, and a weight room. The third floor features two large

aerobics Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness (Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, Muscle, muscular strength, and ...

and

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

studios.

References

{{Lone Star Conference basketball venue navbox Texas Woman's Pioneers College basketball venues in Texas College volleyball venues in the United States College gymnastics venues in the United States Gymnastics venues in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Volleyball venues in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Sports venues completed in 1997 1997 establishments in Texas