Bearcat Arena
Encyclopedia
Bearcat Arena is a 2,500 seat multi-purpose arena in Maryville, Missouri
. It was built in 1959 and renovated in 1993. It is the home of the Northwest Missouri State University
basketball and volleyball teams.
The Arena is in Lamkin Activity Center, a part of the Ryland Milner Complex and is sandwiched between Bearcat Stadium
on the west and the Martindale Gymnasium and the Robert P. Foster Aquatic Center on the east.
The Arena was originally called Lamkin Gymnasium (popularly called "Lamkin Gym") and was named for former school president Uel W. Lamkin
. The original school gymnasium opened in 1926 as Martindale Gymnasium (named for Nell Martindale Kuchs an early women athletics faculty member). Martindale was used for women's sports and Lamkin for men's sports. The two structures were connected by a tunnel going to the pool in the lower level of Martindale. In 1981 the Foster Aquatic Center replaced the pool.
In the 1993-94 academic year the Arena had $6 million renovation and enlargement which changed the front south facade and expanded it to the north (Northwest Student Recreation Center) which, houses a suspended jogging track, three basketball courts and five racquetball/handball courts. Changes on the south side included a new fitness center, lobby and weight-lifting, dressing rooms, coaches offices, and athletic training facilities.
The entire building was renamed the Uel W. Lamkin Activity Center with the basketball court area called Bearcat Arena. However in common usage the whole building is now referred to as Bearcat Arena.
Maryville, Missouri
Maryville is a city in Nodaway County, Missouri, United States. The population was 10,581 at the 2000 census. The town, organized on February 14, 1845, was named for Mrs. Mary Graham, wife of Amos Graham, then the county clerk. Mary was the first Caucasian woman to have lived within the boundaries...
. It was built in 1959 and renovated in 1993. It is the home of the Northwest Missouri State University
Northwest Missouri State University
Northwest Missouri State University is a state university in Maryville, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as a teachers college, it offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. The campus, based on the design for Forest Park at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, is the official Missouri State Arboretum....
basketball and volleyball teams.
The Arena is in Lamkin Activity Center, a part of the Ryland Milner Complex and is sandwiched between Bearcat Stadium
Bearcat Stadium
Bearcat Stadium is the football stadium of the Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats in Maryville, Missouri and is the oldest continuous site for any NCAA Division II school....
on the west and the Martindale Gymnasium and the Robert P. Foster Aquatic Center on the east.
The Arena was originally called Lamkin Gymnasium (popularly called "Lamkin Gym") and was named for former school president Uel W. Lamkin
Uel W. Lamkin
Uel Walter Lamkin was president of Northwest Missouri State University from 1921 to 1945.Lamkin was born in California, Missouri. He attended the private Clinton, Missouri Academy run by his father...
. The original school gymnasium opened in 1926 as Martindale Gymnasium (named for Nell Martindale Kuchs an early women athletics faculty member). Martindale was used for women's sports and Lamkin for men's sports. The two structures were connected by a tunnel going to the pool in the lower level of Martindale. In 1981 the Foster Aquatic Center replaced the pool.
In the 1993-94 academic year the Arena had $6 million renovation and enlargement which changed the front south facade and expanded it to the north (Northwest Student Recreation Center) which, houses a suspended jogging track, three basketball courts and five racquetball/handball courts. Changes on the south side included a new fitness center, lobby and weight-lifting, dressing rooms, coaches offices, and athletic training facilities.
The entire building was renamed the Uel W. Lamkin Activity Center with the basketball court area called Bearcat Arena. However in common usage the whole building is now referred to as Bearcat Arena.