Capacity 10,600 Opened 13 December 1930 Construction cost 434,000 USD Architect Arthur Peabody | Broke ground September 26, 1929 Area 8,094 m² Added to NRHP 1 July 1998 | |
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Location 1450 Monroe St
Madison, WI 53711 Owner Univ. of Wisconsin–Madison Operator Univ. of Wisconsin–Madison Location 1450 Monroe St., Madison, Wisconsin Address 1450 Monroe St, Madison, WI 53706, USA Architectural style Renaissance Revival architecture Similar Kohl Center, UW–Madison Geology Museum, University of Wisconsi, University of Wisconsi, Lathrop Hall | ||
The Wisconsin Field House (commonly known as the UW Fieldhouse) is a 10,600-seat multi-purpose arena in Madison, Wisconsin, directly south of and abutting Camp Randall Stadium. In addition to sports events, the Field House has been the site of large community gatherings such as convocations and concerts. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
The UW began supporting team sporting events in the 1800s. In 1892 the university completed the Red Gym for indoor sports, and in 1893 it bought Camp Randall to use as playing fields. Basketball was played at the UW beginning 1898 and grew in popularity, but the Red Gym seated only 2240 spectators, and was referred to as "the little cigar box gym."
In 1925 the UW regents began discussing a larger space. With pushing from athletic director George Little the new UW Field House was dedicated in 1930. William F. Stevens and John Knudsen designed it in Renaissance Revival style, working under State Architect Arthur Peabody. That style and the Madison sandstone which covers the exterior align with a master plan for the UW campus that Peabody had laid out with Warren Laird and Paul Cret in 1909, loosely matching the style of the campus's earliest buildings North Hall, South Hall, and Bascom Hall. The Field House has a concrete foundation, a steel framework within concrete walls clad in sandstone and decorated with dressed and carved limestone, and a gable roof covered with red clay tiles. The simple interior design of two large galleries worked so well that it influenced the design of other field houses.
The new Field House opened in 1930, with 9000 attending a dedication and a basketball game against Pennsylvania. It housed a successful college boxing program from 1933 until 1960. It is where in 1941 the UW President told the students about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In 1945 it hosted a celebration of Germany's surrender. It was home to the Wisconsin Badgers basketball team before that team moved to Kohl Center. Currently the building is used by the volleyball and wrestling teams. The Wisconsin volleyball team got its first-ever sellout on October 21, 2007, when they hosted No. 1 Penn State.
The "W" crest at the top of the Field House, whose actual designer is unknown, is frequently employed as the emblem of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.