Dean Smith Center - Seating Issues

Seating Issues

The arena's seating arrangement has been somewhat controversial. Most of the lower-level seats were allocated to members of UNC's athletic booster foundation, the Educational Foundation (better known as the Rams Club). Furthermore, most of those seats are season tickets. While tickets are usually available for most non-conference games, Atlantic Coast Conference games are almost always sold out. For many years, scalping was virtually the only way to get in for ACC games. Recently, UNC has begun putting any tickets returned by the visiting team on sale at 5 pm Eastern Time on the day before the game. This is usually the only way to get a seat for anywhere near face value.

In its early years, the arena was known as among the quieter ones in the country because many seats that would have been occupied by students at other schools were occupied by considerably older alumni who were not so inclined to cheer anywhere near as loudly. This led Florida State player Sam Cassell to say that the Dean Dome “is not a Duke kind of crowd. It’s more like a cheese-and-wine crowd, kind of laid back." In contrast, Carmichael Auditorium, the team's previous arena, was known for its noise level; before one game, the University of Virginia Cavaliers couldn't hear their names announced during player introductions because of the din.

Since 1992, however, expanded student seating and a younger alumni base has made the Smith Center louder. For example, after the then top-ranked Connecticut Huskies were defeated by Carolina at the Dean Dome in 2004, Huskies coach Jim Calhoun said, "I don't know what they are talking about because there was no 'wine and cheese' crowd here today." After the Tar Heels defeated then top-ranked Ohio State University in 2007, Buckeye coach Thad Matta stated, "I think I’ve never been in a building that was as loud as that building was at times."

The arena is usually at its loudest for games against Duke; however, during a regular-season game against Maryland in 2000, more students were allowed into the lower level. The game had been postponed two days because of a heavy snowstorm. Students were also allowed to take most of the lower level seats during the Tar Heels' National Invitation Tournament appearance in 2003.