Carmichael Auditorium

Infobox Stadium
stadium_name = Carmichael Auditorium
nickname =


fullname = William Donald Carmichael, Jr. Auditorium
location = 310 South Rd, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
coordinates =
broke_ground =
built =
opened = December 4, 1965
renovated = 1998, 2008-2009
expanded = 1976
closed =
demolished =
owner = University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
operator = University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
surface =
construction_cost =
architect =
structural engineer =
services engineer =
general_contractor =
project_manager =
main_contractors =
former_names =
tenants = North Carolina Tar Heels (NCAA) 1965-2008, 2009-
seating_capacity = 8,010
dimensions =

William D. Carmichael, Jr. Auditorium is a 8,010-seat multi-purpose arena in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The arena opened in 1965. It is home to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels women's basketball team. Before the Dean Smith Center opened in 1986, it also housed the men's team, which had a record of 169-20 (.894) in just over 20 seasons there. It was named for William Donald Carmichael, Jr., a popular former school vice-president.

At the time it was built, the state refused to fund a completely new arena. As a result, Carmichael was built as an annex to Woollen Gymnasium, built in 1937 as the former home of the basketball team. It shares the older facility's western wall.

Carmichael was known as one of the loudest arenas in the country while the Tar Heel men played there, largely because of a low roof and a student section that ringed the court. While hosting the Virginia Cavaliers, it was in fact so loud that the Virginia players could not hear their own names being announced prior to the start of the game. [http://books.google.com/books?id=4YhGeDCjS7wC&pg=PA88&lpg=PA88&dq=carmichael+auditorium+unc+loud&source=web&ots=o6JHaJ3gjR&sig=MvdMzqKz_thtWY21L_xx-01p-5A&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result] A new floor was installed in 1998, after a roof fire that February during renovations. The arena will be completely remodeled beginning spring 2008, and the women's team will join the men in the Smith Center until completion in 2009.

References

External links

* [http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/facilities/unc-carmichael-auditorium.html Carmichael Auditorium page on University of North Carolina Athletics website]