Reynolds Coliseum
Encyclopedia
William Neal Reynolds Coliseum (opened 1949) is a multi-purpose arena located in Raleigh
, North Carolina
on the North Carolina State University
campus. The arena was built to host a variety of events, including agricultural expositions and NC State basketball games. It is now home to all services of ROTC and several Wolfpack teams, including women's basketball
, women's volleyball
, women's gymnastics
, and men's wrestling
. The name was changed to Kay Yow
court at Reynolds Coliseum on February 16, 2007. That same night, the Wolfpack women upset #2 North Carolina, just two weeks after the men upset #3 North Carolina at the RBC Center.
approved plans for the coliseum and construction began in 1942. The foundation work and structural steel support system was completed by 1943 but construction was stopped due to the United States
' involvement in World War II
. After the war the university was preoccupied with the building of housing and classroom facilities and the unfinished coliseum was left untouched until construction resumed in 1948. The arena was completed the following year and named in honor of William Neal Reynolds of Winston-Salem, North Carolina
.
The arena was originally intended to seat 10,000 people, but basketball coach Everett Case
urged the administration to add an additional 2,400 seats. It was the largest arena in the Southeast for many years.
The first men's basketball game was played on December 2, 1949, against Washington & Lee University
and the first women's basketball game was played on December 7, 1974. In 1999 men's basketball moved to the RBC Center. The Wolfpack men have played a December regular-season "heritage" game at Reynolds Coliseum in recent years, and the arena hosted an NIT
second-round game against Marist on March 16, 2007.
Reynolds Coliseum was the original site of the ACC
men's basketball tournament from 1954–1966, the Dixie Classic
tournament from 1949–1960, and the Southern Conference
men's basketball tournament (1951-1953). It has hosted the NCAA men's basketball tournament
as a Regional site eight times, and as a sub-regional (first and second round games) four times. It has also hosted the women's basketball tournament eleven times, but only one of which as a regional site. The ACC women's basketball tournament was held there twice, in 1979 and 1982 (March 1982, in fact, was a very busy month for the arena - it hosted the ACC women's tournament, NCAA men's sub regional and NCAA women's regional all in succession).
In May 2005, Reynolds Coliseum was damaged by a small fire which left the entire structure smelling like smoke. Fortunately, fire damage was minimal, and crews quickly repaired the structure.
Renovations were completed in 2005 that added new lighting, a new sound system, and new separate floors for basketball and volleyball. (Because of the unusually long floor area in Reynolds, the volleyball floor is able to fit in the north end of the coliseum perpendicular to the basketball floor. The basketball area of the coliseum is curtained off or blocked off with temporary bleachers during volleyball matches. During basketball games temporary bleachers are rolled out over the volleyball floor, as well as over the open area on the south end of the court.) The new sound system proved to be inadequate, and was reworked in 2008.
Interestingly, the main arena is not air-conditioned (although some areas of the building do have it). The latest renovations did not include any plans for such a system. As North Carolina summer temperatures in the 90s and 100s are common, the arena can become quite warm and sticky during those months. This is especially notable during the volleyball team's early-season home tournaments, usually held in late August or early September.
Announcer
for the men's basketball games (including the ACC
and Dixie Classic basketball tournaments) during its 50-year run. Bob Ferrone started as the PA Announcer for women’s basketball in 1975, the same year Kay Yow began her award-winning 34 year career as coach of the Wolfpack Women. He continued, assisted by his wife Jan, for 27 years rarely missing a game at Reynolds Coliseum.
Currently, women's basketball is announced by Ed Funkhouser (who is also the stadium announcer for football) and volleyball is announced by Vance Elderkin.
of the American Basketball Association during some but not all of their time in North Carolina from 1969 through 1974.
The arena also hosts annual N.C. State homecoming
events, such as concerts, featuring artists such as The Rolling Stones
, Def Leppard
, Van Halen
, Lonestar
, Ludacris
& Crossfade
, among others. It also played host to many Raleigh area high school graduation ceremonies, though most now take place at the Raleigh Convention Center
.
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
on the North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
campus. The arena was built to host a variety of events, including agricultural expositions and NC State basketball games. It is now home to all services of ROTC and several Wolfpack teams, including women's basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, women's volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, women's gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
, and men's wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
. The name was changed to Kay Yow
Kay Yow
Sandra Kay Yow was an American basketball coach. She was the head coach of the NC State Wolfpack women's basketball team from 1975 to 2009. A member of the Naismith Hall of Fame, she had more than 700 career wins. She also coached the U.S...
court at Reynolds Coliseum on February 16, 2007. That same night, the Wolfpack women upset #2 North Carolina, just two weeks after the men upset #3 North Carolina at the RBC Center.
History
NC State Alumnus David Clark originally petitioned for the construction of the arena in 1940 after rain had ruined a North Carolina Farmers' Week meeting held in an outdoor facility. The North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Assembly
The North Carolina General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The General Assembly drafts and legislates the state laws of North Carolina, also known as the General Statutes...
approved plans for the coliseum and construction began in 1942. The foundation work and structural steel support system was completed by 1943 but construction was stopped due to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' involvement in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After the war the university was preoccupied with the building of housing and classroom facilities and the unfinished coliseum was left untouched until construction resumed in 1948. The arena was completed the following year and named in honor of William Neal Reynolds of Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
.
The arena was originally intended to seat 10,000 people, but basketball coach Everett Case
Everett Case
Everett N. Case , nicknamed "Gray Fox", was a basketball coach most notable for his tenure at North Carolina State University, from 1946 to 1964....
urged the administration to add an additional 2,400 seats. It was the largest arena in the Southeast for many years.
The first men's basketball game was played on December 2, 1949, against Washington & Lee University
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
and the first women's basketball game was played on December 7, 1974. In 1999 men's basketball moved to the RBC Center. The Wolfpack men have played a December regular-season "heritage" game at Reynolds Coliseum in recent years, and the arena hosted an NIT
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are two NIT events each season. The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off , was founded in 1985...
second-round game against Marist on March 16, 2007.
Reynolds Coliseum was the original site of the ACC
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
men's basketball tournament from 1954–1966, the Dixie Classic
Dixie Classic (Basketball Tournament)
The Dixie Classic was an annual college basketball tournament played from 1949 to 1960 in Reynolds Coliseum. The field consisted of the "Big Four" North Carolina schools, the host NC State Wolfpack, Duke Blue Devils, North Carolina Tar Heels, and Wake Forest Demon Deacons, and four teams from...
tournament from 1949–1960, and the Southern Conference
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North...
men's basketball tournament (1951-1953). It has hosted the NCAA men's basketball tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
as a Regional site eight times, and as a sub-regional (first and second round games) four times. It has also hosted the women's basketball tournament eleven times, but only one of which as a regional site. The ACC women's basketball tournament was held there twice, in 1979 and 1982 (March 1982, in fact, was a very busy month for the arena - it hosted the ACC women's tournament, NCAA men's sub regional and NCAA women's regional all in succession).
In May 2005, Reynolds Coliseum was damaged by a small fire which left the entire structure smelling like smoke. Fortunately, fire damage was minimal, and crews quickly repaired the structure.
Renovations were completed in 2005 that added new lighting, a new sound system, and new separate floors for basketball and volleyball. (Because of the unusually long floor area in Reynolds, the volleyball floor is able to fit in the north end of the coliseum perpendicular to the basketball floor. The basketball area of the coliseum is curtained off or blocked off with temporary bleachers during volleyball matches. During basketball games temporary bleachers are rolled out over the volleyball floor, as well as over the open area on the south end of the court.) The new sound system proved to be inadequate, and was reworked in 2008.
Interestingly, the main arena is not air-conditioned (although some areas of the building do have it). The latest renovations did not include any plans for such a system. As North Carolina summer temperatures in the 90s and 100s are common, the arena can become quite warm and sticky during those months. This is especially notable during the volleyball team's early-season home tournaments, usually held in late August or early September.
PA Announcer
C. A. Dillon was the Public AddressPublic address
A public address system is an electronic amplification system with a mixer, amplifier and loudspeakers, used to reinforce a sound source, e.g., a person giving a speech, a DJ playing prerecorded music, and distributing the sound throughout a venue or building.Simple PA systems are often used in...
Announcer
Announcer
An announcer is a presenter who makes "announcements" in an audio medium or a physical location.-Television and other media:Some announcers work in television production , radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, news updates, station identification, or an introduction of a product in...
for the men's basketball games (including the ACC
ACC Men's Basketball Tournament
The ACC Men's Basketball Tournament is the conference championship tournament in basketball for the Atlantic Coast Conference . The tournament has been held every year since 1954, one year after the conference's creation. It is a single-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season...
and Dixie Classic basketball tournaments) during its 50-year run. Bob Ferrone started as the PA Announcer for women’s basketball in 1975, the same year Kay Yow began her award-winning 34 year career as coach of the Wolfpack Women. He continued, assisted by his wife Jan, for 27 years rarely missing a game at Reynolds Coliseum.
Currently, women's basketball is announced by Ed Funkhouser (who is also the stadium announcer for football) and volleyball is announced by Vance Elderkin.
Non-NC State events
The arena hosted games for the Carolina CougarsCarolina Cougars
Carolina Cougars was a basketball franchise in the former American Basketball Association that existed from late 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North Carolina in late 1969 after two unsuccessful...
of the American Basketball Association during some but not all of their time in North Carolina from 1969 through 1974.
The arena also hosts annual N.C. State homecoming
Homecoming
Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni of a school. It most commonly refers to a tradition in many universities, colleges and high schools in North America...
events, such as concerts, featuring artists such as The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
, Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
, Lonestar
Lonestar
Lonestar is an American country music group consisting of Richie McDonald , Michael Britt , Keech Rainwater , Dean Sams , and Michael Hill . McDonald left the band in November 2007 for a solo career before returning in 2011...
, Ludacris
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...
& Crossfade
Crossfade (band)
-Studio albums:-Singles:...
, among others. It also played host to many Raleigh area high school graduation ceremonies, though most now take place at the Raleigh Convention Center
Raleigh Convention Center
The Raleigh Convention Center is a convention and exhibition facility in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina that opened in September 2008. The lead architect was Obrien/Atkins Associates....
.