Assembly Hall (Bloomington)

Infobox_Stadium
stadium_name = Assembly Hall | nickname = Branch McCracken Court


location = 1001 East 17th Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47408-1590
broke_ground = 1970
opened = 1972
closed =
demolished =
owner = Indiana University Bloomington
operator = Indiana University Bloomington
surface =
construction_cost=
architect =
former_names = | tenants = Indiana Hoosiers (NCAA) (1972-Present)
seating_capacity = 17,456

Assembly Hall is a 17,456-seat arena on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the home of the Indiana Hoosiers basketball teams. It opened in 1971 [http://iuhoosiers.cstv.com/facilities/ind-facilities-assembly.html] , replacing the current Gladstein Fieldhouse. The court is named after Branch McCracken, the men's basketball coach who led the school to its first two NCAA National Championships in 1940 and 1953. Indiana installed a new state-of-the-art playing surface during the summer of 1995. The floor is the latest in court science, which includes added shock absorbers. The new floor also is permanent and covers the entire floor area. New bleacher seats were added, as well, along with a media row and end seating platforms on Lobby Level to give Assembly Hall a "new look".

Sportscaster Dick Vitale called for Assembly Hall to be renamed in honor of former coach Bobby Knight in a column for ESPN in 2003. [http://espn-i.starwave.com/dickvitale/vcolumn031120Knight-center.html] This was unlikely to take place, because the controversial Knight was fired by the university in 2000.

The building has hosted the NCAA basketball tournament three times, with sub-regional games in 1977 and 1979, and the Midwest regional finals in 1981.

Renovations

In 2005 the school completed construction of a state-of-the-art, $1.9 million scoreboard-video board. It is expected to pull in yearly advertising revenue without costing the athletics department any out-of-pocket expenses. Some Hoosier purists feared the advertisements, which had never before been in Assembly Hall, would ruin the aura and aesthetics. fact|date=February 2008

Concerts/Speakers [ [http://www.bloomingpedia.org/wiki/Assembly_Hall Assembly Hall - Bloomingpedia ] ]

*Bob Hope and Petula Clark (Fall 1971 Football Homecoming)
*Jesus Christ Superstar (Fall 1971)
*The Jackson Five and The Temptations (Spring 1972 Little 500 Concert)
*Stephen Stills and Manassas (October 19, 1972)
*The Rolling Stones (July 26, 1975)
*Elvis Presley (June 27, 1974 and May 27, 1976)
*The Who (c.1975)
*Eagles (c.1981) with all original members
*Brass Theatre featuring The Canadian Brass (1996)
*Red Hot Chili Peppers (c.2000)
*The Foo Fighters (c.2000)
*Bob Dylan and his band (October 19, 2007)
*Former President of the United States Bill Clinton (April 2, 2008)
*Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds (April 7, 2008)
*Presidential Candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton (April 25, 2008)
*Presidential Candidate Barack Obama (April 30, 2008)

ee also

*Indiana Hoosiers
*Indiana University Bloomington

References