Dean Smith Center

Dean Smith Center

The Dean Dome
Full name	Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center
Location	300 Skipper Bowles Dr, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Coordinates	35°53′59″N 79°2′38″W / 35.89972°N 79.04389°W / 35.89972; -79.04389Coordinates: 35°53′59″N 79°2′38″W / 35.89972°N 79.04389°W / 35.89972; -79.04389
Opened	January 18, 1986
Expanded	1992, 2000
Owner	University of North Carolina
Operator	University of North Carolina
Construction cost	$33.8 million
Architect	Corley Redfoot Zack, Inc.
Capacity	21,750
Tenants
North Carolina Tar Heels (NCAA) (1986-present)

The Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center, usually called simply the Smith Center and popularly referred to as the Dean Dome is a multi-purpose arena in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The arena is home to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels men's basketball team, and temporary home to the women's team during renovations to Carmichael Auditorium. The arena opened in 1986.

The arena is named after former North Carolina coach Dean Smith, who coached the team from 1961 to 1997. According to David Halberstam's biography of Michael Jordan, Smith did not want the arena named after him, but was persuaded by the UNC administration and the arena's backers that fundraising efforts for the facility could fail if they did not use his name.^[1]

General information

The arena originally seated 21,444. Seating adjustments brought capacity to 21,572 in 1992 and 21,750^[2] in 2000. It is now the fifth largest arena in college basketball, and the fourth-largest designed specifically for basketball.

Until the construction of the second Charlotte Coliseum in 1988, it was the largest basketball-specific arena on the East Coast. The largest crowd to see a game in the Dean Dome was on March 6, 2005, when 22,125 fans saw the Tar Heels win 75-73 against Duke.^[3]

The arena was built to allow more fans to attend Tar Heel basketball games than could fit in the 21-year-old, 10,000-seat Carmichael Auditorium. The Tar Heels have been among the nation's attendance leaders ever since the arena opened.^[4]

The arena is somewhat spread out, making the seats seem far from the floor. However, the sight lines throughout most of the arena are very good, as they are almost the same as those of Carmichael. The only obstructed seats are in the upper rows of the lower level, where the view is partially cut off by the upper level's overhang.

Seating issues

Summer 2006

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, all Atlantic Coast Conference games are sold out, and scalping is virtually the only way to get in.

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 as inclined to cheer anywhere near as vocally. 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."^[5] In contrast, the student section at Carmichael ringed the court, making it one of the loudest arenas in the country.

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."^[6]

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 due to 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.

Home court advantage

Tipoff of North Carolina-Duke game at Dean Smith Center

The Tar Heels have one of the most formidable home-court advantages in the country, rarely losing more than three home games in a season. As of the end of the 2008-09 season, North Carolina had a record of 279-51 (.845) at the Smith Center,^[7] an average of 11.5 wins and just 2.1 losses per year. They have gone undefeated at home three times since the arena opened (1986-87, 1992-93 and 2004-05). North Carolina has an overall record in the Smith Center of 285-52.^[8][9] UNC's ACC record in the Smith Center is 146-40.^[8][10]

Non-basketball uses

The arena has also held many concerts and is used by many of the graduate and professional schools, such as the UNC School of Law, for commencement ceremonies each year, as well as the same for all undergraduates receiving degrees in December of each year. It is also the graduation site for the local high schools each June. There is some controversy surrounding the continued support of the Dean Dome by the state government. Concerts by everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Bon Jovi, as well as advertising arrangements such as a signage deal with Wachovia Bank also fund the stadium.^[11]

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dean Smith Center

External links

• Official Website of North Carolina Athletics Department that talks about the Dean Smith Center

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