Redhawk Center is a 999-seat multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington on the campus of

Seattle University Seattle University (Seattle U or SU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and grad ...

. It was built in 1959 and is home to the

Redhawks

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It was first played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large parts via women's college compet ...

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, as well as the home court for the Redhawks men's team, which also plays at nearby

Climate Pledge Arena Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located north of downtown Seattle in the entertainment complex known as the Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, for which it was ...

since 2008 when the school returned to

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

History

On December 15, 2014, the men's team returned for the first time since 2008, for a single game against Northwest University, which Seattle won. The Redhawk Center was also used for

College Basketball Invitational The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) is a men's college basketball tournament created in 2007 by The Gazelle Group. The inaugural tournament occurred after the conclusion of the 2007–08 men's college basketball regular season. The CBI sel ...

games in mid-March in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. The arena underwent a major remodel for the 2014–15 season, with new seating, court, and more. Starting in 2016, the men's team will play six regular season games at the Redhawk Center, with possible plans for even more home games in the future here. The school cites the change to getting more student involvement, a more intimate home setting, the success of hosting CBI games here the last two years, and the lack of attendance at KeyArena. From 2018 until 2021, Seattle U played all home games at the Redhawk Center while KeyArena underwent a major renovation.

Connolly Center name change

In 2018, the school renamed the Connolly Center to its current name. Originally named for Archbishop Thomas Connolly, the school removed his name due to Connolly's involvement in covering up sex crimes committed by a parish priest, Father Michael Cody. Connolly died in 1991.

References

External links

*
Seattle U has rich basketball history
1959 establishments in Washington (state) College basketball venues in Washington (state) College volleyball venues in the United States Seattle Redhawks basketball Seattle University buildings Sports venues completed in 1959 Sports venues in Seattle {{Washington-stadium-stub