Stephen C. O'Connell Center

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Stephen C. O'Connell Center
"The O-Dome"
Location Gale Lemerand Dr & W University Ave
Gainesville, FL 32611
Broke ground Fall, 1977
Opened December 30, 1980
Owner Univ. of Florida
Operator Univ. of Florida
Construction cost $14 million
Architect Jim Hughes
Tenants Florida Gators
(Men's and Women's Basketball, Gymnastics, Volleyball, Indoor Track, Swimming & Diving)
Capacity 12,000

The Stephen C. O'Connell Center, popularly nicknamed the "O-Dome" is a 12,000-seat multi-purpose arena at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. The facility is named for Stephen C. O'Connell, President of the University of Florida from 1967-1973. It is situated between the west side of football's Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and the east side of baseball's McKethan Stadium. The arena opened in 1980, but problems with the inflatable, Teflon-coated fabric roof required replacement with a permanent, hard shell dome on top of the structure in 1998. In 2006, the arena undertook an overhaul of the four scoreboards located above the entrances to Gates 1-4. Instead of displaying information and advertisements, the scoreboards are now used for live instant replays for events inside the arena. The arena, which is the fourth on-campus home of the Gators, replaced the old Florida Gymnasium, nicknamed "Alligator Alley", which was the home of the Gators for the previous 31 seasons and is still located to the east of the football stadium.

The O'Connell Center.
The O'Connell Center.

It is home to the University of Florida Gators men's and women's basketball, volleyball, indoor track, gymnastics, swimming and diving teams. ESPN The Magazine nicknamed it the "House of Horrors" in 1999, a name that the sports teams began using promotionally a few years later. The student section of the stadium has been dubbed the "Rowdy Reptiles". ESPN commentator Dick Vitale said, on assignment at the Florida vs. Kentucky game in 2006, that the Rowdy Reptiles make the O-Dome one of the toughest places to play in college basketball.

Following the men's basketball team's victory in the national title game of the 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, the UF athletic department bought the temporary hardwood floor that had been installed in the Indianapolis RCA Dome for the Final Four. Although the national finals logos will be removed by sanding, the basketball teams will now play on the same lumber on which the Gators won their first basketball National Championship. The Gators also bought the court used to win their second title from the Georgia Dome, and displayed it in the O'Connell Center during their championship celebration event, but will sell it afterwards in pieces to raise funds for scholarships.[1].

On December 23rd, 2006, a record crowd of 12,621 watched the 5th ranked Gators defeat the 3rd ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, 86-60. The two teams would meet again that season for the National Championship game, with the Gators, once again, emerging victorious as the first back-to-back National Champions since Duke in the early 90s.

In addition to its use as a basketball arena, the O'Connell Center also contains both indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and is regularly used to host other events on campus, including career fairs, graduation ceremonies, concerts, and public speakers.

Contents

[edit] Gallery

The non-student side of the O'Connell Center during the 2008 NIT Second Round. Note the video replay board in the upper left added during the 2006-2007 season.

Another angle from inside of the O'Connell Center during the 2008 NIT Second Round

[edit] See Also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Palm Beach Post: April 6, 2007-Floor For Sale

[edit] External links

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