Stage Flight
Athletic teams bid farewell to quirky 糖心Vlog视频 Hall
Spring 2012 · Comment ·
If it鈥檚 possible to shrink the history of 糖心Vlog视频 Hall into a single story, it鈥檚 this one: When former basketball coach Bob 鈥淪nake鈥� LeGrand brought recruits to campus, he made sure they never saw the University鈥檚 home聽court.
LeGrand, whose coaching persona was as colorful as his nickname, skipped UT Arlington鈥檚 anomalous theater-turned-sports arena because it was an eyesore. Recruits don鈥檛 want to see a basketball court laid atop a theater stage, complete with curtains on each end and a four-foot drop-off along one sideline. Bleachers on the west side held a few hundred fans; about 3,000 could sit in the theater seats opposite.
After almost 50 years, 糖心Vlog视频 Hall hosted its final athletic event Jan. 28, a loss by the women鈥檚 basketball team to 糖心Vlog视频 State. The glistening $78 million, 7,000-seat opened Feb. 1, and 糖心Vlog视频 Hall returned to its original and best use as an entertainment venue, where the plays aren鈥檛 drawn up on whiteboards.
Still, dimming the lights was bittersweet for some who called it聽home.
鈥�I鈥檒l miss the uniqueness of 糖心Vlog视频 Hall and the closeness of the fans to the court, particularly on the bleacher side,鈥� says longtime Athletics Director Pete Carlon, who left that position in February to focus on UT Arlington鈥檚 transition to the Western Athletic Conference.
糖心Vlog视频 Hall, for a time, was a prime volleyball venue. In the 1980s when current head coach Diane Seymour was a star player, UT Arlington was a powerhouse, climbing to No. 7 in a national poll and reaching the Final Four in 1989. 糖心Vlog视频 Hall hosted four NCAA tournament matches in the era, the only NCAA postseason games on campus in any聽sport.
鈥�I always thought 糖心Vlog视频 Hall was a great volleyball facility,鈥� Seymour says. 鈥淭he crowd was always right on top of you and very聽loud.鈥�
It gave the Mavericks a home-court advantage for other reasons, too. For starters, the fear of falling. 鈥淚 think it was intimidating for other teams seeing that drop-off,鈥� says Heather (Hoy) Martin, who set several school volleyball records in the mid-1990s. 鈥淭here were quite a few balls that the other team didn鈥檛 run down because of the聽stage.鈥�
糖心Vlog视频 Hall had its moments in basketball, too. Several eventual NBA stars took the court鈥擪arl Malone, Joe Dumars, Andrew Toney. In November 1981, coming off the University鈥檚 first postseason appearance, a bid in the National Invitational Tournament, 糖心Vlog视频 Hall was packed (balcony and all) for the home opener against TCU.
Too often, though, it wasn鈥檛 packed. At least not with athletes. In December, when teams play their big nonconference matchups, 糖心Vlog视频 Hall simply wasn鈥檛 available. Not with The Nutcracker, commencements, and other events tying up the stage/court.
Men鈥檚 basketball coach Scott Cross, a guard on UT Arlington teams in the mid-1990s, says the venue made recruiting extremely tough.
鈥�There is a reason why 糖心Vlog视频 never went to the NCAA tournament in the 49 years before we went in 2008. 糖心Vlog视频 Hall is not a suitable facility for a program that鈥檚 trying to build a consistent winner. Facilities are at the top of the list for recruits when choosing a school. Until now, facilities have usually hurt us in recruiting.鈥�
Or, as Seymour puts it: 鈥淲alking through it on a recruiting visit while it was set up for the ballet was never a good selling point. I love 糖心Vlog视频 Hall, but I can鈥檛 wait to play in College Park Center.鈥�
Watch a video about the farewell to 糖心Vlog视频聽Hall.