Jon M. Huntsman Center

Jon M. Huntsman Center
Construction

Former names	Special Events Center (1969-1987)^[1]
Location	1825 East South Campus Drive Salt Lake City, UT 84112
Coordinates	40°45′44″N 111°50′19″W / 40.7621°N 111.8387°W / 40.7621; -111.8387
Owner	University of Utah
Operator	University of Utah
Capacity	15,000
Record attendance	16,019 (March 6, 2015, Women's Gymnastics vs. Michigan)
Surface	Multi-surface
Broke ground	1967
Opened	November 30, 1969
Construction cost	$10,392,000 ($67.1 million in 2016 dollars^[2])
Architect	Bruce H. Jensen
Tenants
Utah Utes (Men's & Women's Basketball, Women's Gymnastics)

The Jon M. Huntsman Center is a 15,000-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The arena opened in 1969 as the Special Events Center. In 1987, it was renamed in honor of chemicals entrepreneur and philanthropist Jon M. Huntsman, father of Utah's former governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. From its opening until the completion of the Vivint Smart Home Arena in 1991, it was one of Salt Lake City's premier sports and entertainment venues (the other being the Salt Palace, where the Utah Stars of the ABA and the Utah Jazz of the NBA played their home games.) Architecturally, it was once known for its steel cloud, which hung from the arena's silver dome interior. The steel cloud held the arena's center court scoreboard, sound and lighting systems. The scoreboard was upgraded in the 1980s with the addition of state-of-the-art rear projection video screens. The rear projection system was upgraded in 1995, and replaced in 2006 by four LED video screens. In 2014, the arena was renovated again. The $6 million project removed the steel cloud, as well as added a new floor, LED lights, sound system, drapes, and two grand entrances to house a Hall of Fame and Legacy Hall.

The arena hosted the 1979 Final Four, featuring the first round of the rivalry between all-time greats Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Magic's Michigan State team defeated Bird's then-unbeaten Indiana State in the final, which remains the most-watched college basketball game in history. Many observers consider the Magic-Bird rivalry established here and carried into the NBA when both entered the league that fall to be a major factor in the league's 1980s renaissance.

The facility hosted the 1989 Western Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament.

Today the 15,000-seat arena is still home to the University of Utah's "Runnin' Utes" basketball teams (men's and women's) and "Red Rocks" women's gymnastics team. It also hosts concerts, mostly second-tier acts; most premier concerts have been hosted at what is now Vivint Smart Home Arena.

The Huntsman Center has hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament 12 times (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2003 and 2006). It has twice hosted the West Regional Final (1971, 1981) and one Final Four in 1979. Due to the frequency of hosting first and second round games, the Huntsman Center is second all-time in NCAA Tournament games hosted with 81.

With Utah joining the Pac-12 for the 2011 season, the Huntsman Center is the largest arena in the conference.

Jon M. Huntsman Center outside view

References

↑ "Attendance and Sites". 2014 Men's Final Four Records Book (pdf). Indianapolis, IN: NCAA Publications. 2014. p. 138. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
↑ "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved November 10, 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jon M. Huntsman Center.

Preceded by Checkerdome	NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Finals Venue 1979	Succeeded by Market Square Arena

University of Utah

Colleges	College of Architecture and Planning College of Engineering David Eccles School of Business School of Medicine S.J. Quinney College of Law

Institutes	Center for American Indian Languages Hinckley Institute of Politics Middle East Center Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute

Medical	ARUP Laboratories Huntsman Cancer Institute Moran Eye Center Primary Children's Medical Center University Neuropsychiatric Institute University of Utah Hospital University Orthopaedic Center

Athletics	Utah Utes Men's basketball Football Gymnastics Pac-12 Conference

Campus	Block U Fort Douglas Hoberman Arch Huntsman Center Marriott Library Nielsen Fieldhouse Olympic Cauldron Park Presidents Circle Red Butte Garden Research Park Rice–Eccles Stadium

Cultural	Kingsbury Hall Pioneer Theatre Company University of Utah Press University of Utah Singers Utah Museum of Fine Arts Natural History Museum of Utah

People	List of University of Utah people University of Utah Presidents

Broadcasting	Eccles Broadcast Center K-UTE KUED KUEN KUER-FM

Utah Utes men's basketball

Venues	Deseret Gymnasium (19??–1939) Nielsen Fieldhouse (1939–1969) Jon M. Huntsman Center (1969–present)

Rivalries	BYU In-state Utah schools

Culture & lore	History Swoop

People	Head coaches Retired numbers

Seasons	1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16

NCAA national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

Utah Utes women's basketball

Venues	Jon M. Huntsman Center (1975–present)

Culture & lore	History Swoop

People	Head coaches

Seasons	1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16

Basketball arenas in the Pac-12 Conference

McKale Center (Arizona) Wells Fargo Arena (Arizona State) Haas Pavilion (California) Coors Events Center (Colorado) Matthew Knight Arena (Oregon) Gill Coliseum (Oregon State) Maples Pavilion (Stanford) Pauley Pavilion (UCLA) Galen Center (USC) Huntsman Center (Utah) Hec Edmundson Pavilion (Washington) Beasley Coliseum (Washington State)

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Jon M. Huntsman Center

See also

References

External links