O'Connell Center facts for kids
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"The O'Dome"
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| Location | 250 Gale Lemerand Drive Gainesville, Florida 32611 |
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| Coordinates | 29°38′58″N 82°21′04″W / 29.64944°N 82.35111°W |
| Owner | University of Florida |
| Operator | University of Florida |
| Capacity | 12,000 (1980–2016) 10,133 (2016–present) |
| Record attendance | 12,633 |
| Surface | Multi-surface |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | October 1977 |
| Opened | December 30, 1980 |
| Renovated | 1998, 2016 |
| Construction cost | $15.6 million ($55.4 million in 2022 dollars ) |
| Architect | Caudill Rowlett Scott Moore, May & Harrington |
| Structural engineer | Geiger–Berger Associates |
| General contractor | Dyson and Company, Inc. Brasfield & Gorrie (2016) |
| Tenants | |
| Florida Gators men's basketball Florida Gators women's basketball Florida Gators women's gymnastics Florida Gators swimming and diving Florida Gators women's volleyball |
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The Stephen C. O'Connell Center, often called the O'Dome, is a large sports arena at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. It has seats for over 10,000 people. The arena is named after Stephen C. O'Connell, who was the university's president from 1967 to 1973. You can find it on the north side of the campus, near the main football stadium.
From 1980 to 2016, it was just called the O'Connell Center. In 2016, the building had a huge renovation that cost $64.5 million. After this, a medical company from Gainesville called Exactech paid to have the main arena named after them. So, it's now officially known as the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
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Home of the Florida Gators
The Exactech Arena at the O'Connell Center is the main home for many of the Florida Gators sports teams. These include the men's and women's college basketball teams, gymnastics, swimming and diving, and volleyball teams.
Students quickly started calling the arena the "O'Dome," and that nickname is still used today. In 1999, ESPN The Magazine even called it the "House of Horrors" because it was so tough for visiting teams to play there. The student cheering section is known as the "Rowdy Reptiles." A famous sports commentator, Dick Vitale, once said that the Rowdy Reptiles make the O'Dome one of the hardest places for college basketball teams to play.
On December 23, 2006, a record 12,621 fans watched the Gators beat the Ohio State Buckeyes. These two teams met again later that season for the National Championship game, where the Gators won again. This attendance record was broken on February 5, 2011, when 12,633 people watched the Gators win against the Kentucky Wildcats.
Other Events at the O'Dome
Besides sports, the O'Connell Center hosts many other events. It's the biggest concert venue in North Central Florida. Many famous performers have played there, including Gainesville native Tom Petty in 2006. His first show at the O'Connell Center was in 1981, a year after it opened.
The O'Dome is also used for University of Florida graduation ceremonies. It holds trade shows, job fairs, political speeches, and large banquets. It's a very busy place on campus!
Event Capacities
The O'Connell Center can hold different numbers of people depending on the event:
- Concerts:
- Full House: 7,000 people
- In the Round: 10,500 people
- Speaking Events:
- Half House: 2,500-3,500 people
- Full House: 6,000-7,000 people
- Athletics:
- Men’s Basketball: 10,136 people
- Women’s Basketball: 10,136 people
- Volleyball: 10,136 people
- Gymnastics: 9,251 people
- Banquets:
- Up to 1,200 people
- Trade Shows:
- Total Exhibition Booths: 250 (8x10 foot booths)
History of the O'Connell Center
Before the O'Connell Center, the University of Florida's basketball teams played in the Florida Gymnasium. This old gym was built in 1949 and was nicknamed "Alligator Alley." It was known for being very loud and tough for opposing teams. However, it was also small, didn't have many modern features, and had no air conditioning. By the early 1970s, Florida was the only school in its conference without a modern basketball arena. This made it hard to attract top players.
Building the New Arena
In 1975, the University of Florida decided to build a new, modern sports facility. The University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa was also planning a similar arena. So, the two universities decided to use the same architectural design to save money. This meant that USF's Sun Dome and UF's O'Connell Center looked very similar when they were first built. They both had unique inflatable roof systems.
Construction on the O'Connell Center began in October 1977. There were some delays when cracks appeared in the concrete support beams. But after a few months, the problems were fixed. Both the Sun Dome and the O'Connell Center were finished in late 1980. The O'Connell Center officially opened on December 30, 1980, with a men's basketball game.
Impact on Basketball
The new arena quickly helped the Florida men's basketball team. The first coach to return to Florida because of the new arena was Norm Sloan. He had coached Florida in the 1960s and then won a national championship with North Carolina State in 1974. Sloan said he came back because he always felt that if Florida had a good facility, he would consider returning.
Playing in the new O'Connell Center under Coach Sloan, the Gators' basketball program got much better. They made their first NCAA Tournament in 1986. This success helped set the stage for even greater achievements in the years that followed.
Design and Updates
The O'Connell Center was designed to be a place for practice and competitions for most of the university's indoor sports. It's a very large building, covering about 292,000 square feet. The main Exactech Arena is at its heart. Around it, there's a basketball practice court, a natatorium (an indoor swimming facility), and gymnastics practice areas.
Original Roof Design
When it first opened, the O'Connell Center had a special inflatable roof made of Teflon. Large blowers kept the air pressure inside high enough to hold the flexible roof up. You couldn't feel the higher air pressure inside. But if you opened a regular door, air would rush out. So, revolving doors were put at the main entrances to help keep the air pressure steady. Over time, maintaining this system became expensive.
In 1998, a $10 million renovation replaced the inflatable roof with a more traditional hard dome. Even though the old system was no longer used, the blowers and ducts stayed in place until another big renovation in 2016.
Recent Renovations
After the 1998 roof change, the O'Connell Center had a smaller update in 2006. The university replaced some of the seats and updated the four scoreboards with modern video screens. These new screens could show instant replays.
After the men's basketball team won their first national championship in 2006, the university bought the special hardwood floor they played on for the championship game. The Gators played on this same floor from 2011 to 2016. They also bought the court from their second championship win in 2007 and later sold pieces of it to raise money for scholarships.
2016 Rebuild Project
In March 2016, the O'Connell Center began a huge $64.5 million renovation project. Almost the entire inside of the arena was torn down and rebuilt. New features included a large hanging scoreboard and a fancy club area with box seats. The locker rooms and meeting rooms were improved. The swimming and gymnastics areas were updated. A "grand entrance" was built facing the Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. When it reopened in December 2016, the main arena was renamed the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center due to the naming rights deal.
Images for kids
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The O'Connell Center during a basketball game in 2008.
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Another view from inside the O'Connell Center during a game.
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Championship banners for Florida men's basketball hanging inside the O'Connell Center.
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The front of the O'Connell Center after its big renovation in 2017.
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See also
In Spanish: Stephen C. O'Connell Center para niños
