Memorial Gymnasium is a multi-purpose facility located in Nashville, Tennessee. Commonly called Memorial Gym or just Memorial , it is located on the western edge of the Vanderbilt University campus. It was built in 1952 and currently has a seating capacity of 14,326. It serves as a home court for the men's and women's basketball program.
Video Memorial Gymnasium (Vanderbilt University)
Unusual construction and design
The Memorial Gymnasium was built in the early 1950s, designed by Edwin A. Keeble. It is dedicated as a campus memorial to students and alumni killed in World War II; a plaque commemorating these people is displayed in the lobby. At the time of its construction, there was a serious discussion within the Vanderbilt community about whether schools should not emphasize athletic inter-college. As a compromise, the gymnasium was built to accommodate only about 8,000 seats, and it would be easy to adapt to other uses.
The gym floor is built on the surrounding area, more in the nature of the stage. The area outside the sidelines is very wide, in contrast to the small facility being replaced, where the walls are along the sidelines and players can scratch their shoulders carrying the ball onto the field. This requires the placement of a bench at each end of the court, which at that time was very unusual. In addition, each goal is initially anchored by two distant beams attached to a support column, with extra support coming from the wires that extend to the ceiling of the gym. (In the case of a vertebral fracture or beam fracture, replacing the old goal would be very difficult, compared to the usual destination setting in most places.) The main gym, unlike exercise gym, does not have air conditioning. Until the 2017 renovation, the shot was under the board to the right of the player. The new conventional Spalding Backstop, with a Daktronics shot clock over the center of the goal, was installed for the 2017-18 season.
The Memorial Gym is famous for its unusual design. The location of the final-floor bench is now unique in the main college basket, and is said to give Vanderbilt home court advantage, as there are no other facilities in which the opposite play is set in such a way. The interior wall is an unpainted cinder block before major renovations in the early 2000s. The middle of the three decks has a low ceiling and when the house lights are turned off during game play gives a different impression while watching Cinemascope basketball movies.
For years, the opposing coaches complained that they had to train their team from the baseline, making it very difficult to communicate from the other end of the floor. This is because of the placement of the team bench at the baseline. However, starting in the 2015-16 season, coaches are given a typical coaching box running by side, as in every other college gym. Now, even though their team is still at the baseline, the trainers have the ability to roam the sideline until the end of the NCAA coaching box
Maps Memorial Gymnasium (Vanderbilt University)
History
As Southeastern Conference basketball grew popular and Vanderbilt established itself as a basketball force, seating capacity proved inadequate. The gymnasium was designed in a way that made it easy to expand, and by the mid-1960s it sat 11,103. The conference championship that was run in 1966 led to more demand for seats, and by the end of the decade the facility was sitting 15,581. Usually sold out, especially for conference games, and in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Vanderbilt consistently made the top ten to attend all college basketball, a remarkable achievement for medium-sized private institutions. The arena hosted the SEC men's basketball tournament in 1984 and 1991.
In the early 1990s, the building served as a host site for the "Battle of the Road" competition competition between Lipscomb and Belmont, two other Nashville institutions with a long history of quality basketball. The game was transferred to the Memorial when it became clear that ticket requests would greatly surpass their availability at Belmont's former court house, the Little Striplin Gymnasium. However, even the event organizers themselves were surprised when the doubleheader between the women's and men's teams sold the Memorial at the break of the women's game. The event still holds the attendance record all the time for NAIA basketball games.
Host for college post-graduate basket
Memorial Gym has hosted the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship on four occasions (1973 regionals, 1982/1989/1993 first and second round games). It also served as home to men's Basketball tournaments in 1984 and 1991. In the 1984 tournament, Charles Barkley's "sit in midcourt" episode occurred after his Auburn Tigers were beaten in the tournament championship by Kentucky Wildcats. In 1991, Alabama won the 88-69 championship over Tennessee.
It has served as a host site for the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament 12 times (first and/or second round matches in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2006, and 2012, plus 1998).
Then Florida State coach Pat Kennedy complained about the arrangement after his team lost the first round of the NCAA Tournament there.
The NCAA has used the newer Bridgestone Arena, a larger arena with a modern configuration in downtown Nashville, for the first and second men's tournaments on the last four occasions (2000, 2003, 2005, 2012) than the Memorial Gym.
Latest renovation and history
In recent years, facilities have been modernized; the addition of press boxes, suites, and other facilities has reduced the seating capacity. This facility is favored by many puritan basketball as examples of facilities designed primarily for the sport - although occasionally also placed other facilities for Vanderbilt's athletic operations, such as swimming pools - and has been called "Fenway Park". from Basketball College. "
Memorial Gym was Jeff Lacy versus Jermain Taylor WBC's super middle-class venue on November 15, 2008, the first time the gym hosted a major professional boxing event.
See also
- List of NCAA Division I basket arena
References
External links
- The Magic of Memorial is Historical - Part I
- The Magic of Memorial is Historical- Part II
- Official Gym Memorial site
- Memorial Gym Seating Chart - with clickable Points-of-View
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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