History
Prior to the building of the arena, the men’s basketball team played at Johnson Gymnasium, a 7,800-seat multi-purpose gym on the University’s main campus. However, with the surge in popularity following the hiring of Bob King and the team’s appearance in the finals of the 1964 National Invitation Tournament, it was decided that a new, larger arena was needed for the team’s growing and dedicated following. The site chosen was across University Boulevard from University Stadium on the University’s new South Campus. The design won international recognition for chief architect Joe Boehning, who still resides in Albuquerque. The arena was built with its floor lying 37 feet (11 m) below grade, giving rise to its now-famous nickname. The 338-by-300-foot Behlen roof was built first, before the pit was excavated and concrete was poured for the foundations. There are no supporting pillars in the seating area of the arena, so there are no obstructed views. The compact area, steep grade and proximity of the seats to the floor contributes to the legendary noise level. Originally seating 14,831, the $1.4 million arena (inexpensive even in its time) opened on Dec. 1, 1966, with New Mexico defeating Abilene Christian College, 62–53. In 1992, to honor the coach who made the arena’s construction possible, the basketball court was renamed Bob King Court.
Read more about this topic: The Pit (arena)
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“It’s nice to be a part of history but people should get it right. I may not be perfect, but I’m bloody close.”
—John Lydon (formerly Johnny Rotten)
“We know only a single science, the science of history. One can look at history from two sides and divide it into the history of nature and the history of men. However, the two sides are not to be divided off; as long as men exist the history of nature and the history of men are mutually conditioned.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)
“The foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face; we, through their eyes. Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe? Why should not we have a poetry and philosophy of insight and not of tradition, and a religion by revelation to us, and not the history of theirs?”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)