Marriott Center
The Marriott Center is a multi-purpose arena in the western United States, located on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. It is home to the BYU Cougars men's and women's basketball teams. The seating capacity for basketball games at the Marriott Center is officially 17,978. It is the largest basketball arena in the Big 12 Conference and it is among the largest on-campus basketball arenas in the nation.
 Marriott Center in 2006 | |
  Provo Location in the United States  Provo Location in Utah | |
| Address | 701 East University Parkway |
|---|---|
| Location | Brigham Young University Provo, Utah, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 40.254°N 111.649°W |
| Public transit |  UVX (at BYU Stadium station) |
| Owner | Brigham Young University |
| Capacity | 22,700 (1971–2012) 20,951 (2012–2015) 18,987 (2015–2022) 17,978 (2022-present) |
| Opened | 1971 |
| Tenants | |
| BYU men's basketball BYU women's basketball | |
In addition to basketball, the Marriott Center is used for weekly devotionals and forums.
The elevation of the court is approximately 4,650 feet (1,420 m) above sea level.
History
The Marriott Center was named in honor of benefactor and hotel tycoon J. Willard Marriott, founder of the Marriott Corporation. When the arena opened 52 years ago in 1971, it passed the University of Minnesota's Williams Arena as the largest college basketball arena in the nation. It was also the largest venue in the nation built for basketball, larger than any NBA (or ABA) arena at that time. It lost both distinctions when the University of Kentucky opened Rupp Arena in 1976, but remained as the largest basketball-specific facility on a U.S. college campus until 1987, when the University of Tennessee opened Thompson–Boling Arena.
Prior to 1971, the Cougars played basketball games at Smith Fieldhouse, which remains the primary venue for volleyball and gymnastics. The court was replaced in 2003 with a permanent floor.
The Marriott Center hosted the West Regionals of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament four times (1972, 1977, 1979, 1982), and the Western Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament in 1988.
On February 7, 1993, Cody Judy threatened LDS apostle Howard W. Hunter with a supposed bomb in front of a crowd of 15,000–17,000 onlookers in the Marriott Center.[1][2]
A devotional conference featuring LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley on October 17, 1995, drew the largest crowd to ever attend an activity at the arena: 25,875 people.[3]
In 1999, the Marriott Center set an NCAA record for highest attendance for a men's volleyball match: 14,156 watched BYU defeat Long Beach State on February 19, shattering the previous record of 10,225 (held by Hawaii).[4]
Renovations
In April 2012, BYU announced renovations to the Marriott Center. The lower bench seating on the north side was replaced with prime chair seating. A new sound system was installed, and the men's and women's locker rooms were renovated. The changes in the lower seating lowered the Marriott Center’s capacity from 22,700 to 20,951.[5]
The remaining lower bench seating was replaced after the 2015 season, lowering seating capacity to around 19,000.[6] The new renovation also installed new video boards for the Marriott Center and added the Marriott Center Annex building, where practice sessions take place for both BYU basketball teams.[4] The Marriott Center Annex was placed between the Marriott Center and the BYU Broadcasting Building.[2]
Seating was updated again in 2022, lowering the capacity to 17,978.[7][8]
The Marriott Center has the largest seating capacity of any basketball arena in the Big 12 Conference,[9] and as of October 2021 it had the eighth largest seating capacity of on-campus basketball arenas in the United States.[10]
References
- "California Man Threatens President Hunter, Fireside Audience With Fake Bomb" by Gail Sinnott and Carri P. Jenkins, BYU Magazine, February 1993, pages 15–16
- Daily Universe covers fireside threat on Pres. Hunter Archived 2010-01-30 at the Wayback Machine, by Alicia Barney, BYU Daily Universe, 8 December 2005
- "Y Magazine: For the Record Books",
- Honolulu Star-Bulletin Sports: UH falls to BYU
- BYU Marriott Center Upgrades Seating, by Digital Universe universe.byu.edu, 13 April 2012
- Marriott Center renovations, by Digital Universe, 7 July 2015
- Westerby, Abigail (8 November 2022). "Marriott Center finalizes seating upgrades". The Daily Universe. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- "Basketball Facilities". BYU Cougars. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
BYU's 18,987-seat basketball arena is truly a hoop heaven.
- Roth, Max (10 September 2021). "What BYU brings to the table for the Big 12 Conference". FOX 13 News Utah (KSTU). Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- Harper, Mitch (12 October 2021). "BYU Basketball: 50th Anniversary Logo For Marriott Center Unveiled". KSL Sports. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
External links
- Brigham Young University Athletics – Marriott Center