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Jon M. Huntsman Center
Construction
Red Rocks gymnastics meet in 2008
Salt Lake CityLocation in the United StatesShow map of the United StatesSalt Lake CityLocation in UtahShow map of Utah
Former names	Special Events Center (1969–1987)
Address	1825 E. South Campus Dr.
Location	University of Utah Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Coordinates	40°45′43″N 111°50′20″W / 40.762°N 111.839°W / 40.762; -111.839
Owner	University of Utah
Operator	University of Utah
Capacity	15,000 Basketball And Volleyball
Record attendance	16,019 (March 6, 2015; gymnastics vs. Michigan)
Surface	Multi-surface
Broke ground	1967
Opened	November 30, 1969; 55 years ago (1969-11-30)
Construction cost	$10.392 million ($86.3 million in 2024)
Architect	Bruce H. Jensen
Tenants
Utah Utes (NCAA Division I) (men's & women's basketball, women's gymnastics and women's volleyball)

The Jon M. Huntsman Center is a 15,000-seat indoor arena in the western United States, on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. It is the home of the Utah Utes of the Big 12 Conference, the primary venue for basketball and gymnastics.

History

Opened 54 years ago in late 1969 as the Special Events Center, it succeeded Nielsen Fieldhouse as the campus' primary indoor arena. It was renamed in 1987 in honor of chemicals entrepreneur and philanthropist Jon M. Huntsman (1937–2018), father of Utah's former governor Jon Huntsman, Jr.

From its opening until the completion of the Delta Center in 1991, the Huntsman Center was one of Salt Lake City's premier sports and entertainment venues (along with the Salt Palace (1969–1993), the home of the Utah Stars (ABA) and Utah Jazz (NBA)).

Architecturally, it was once known for its steel cloud, which hung from the arena's silver dome interior. The steel cloud held the arena's center court scoreboard, sound and lighting systems. The scoreboard was upgraded in the 1980s with the addition of state-of-the-art rear projection video screens. The rear projection system was upgraded in 1995, and replaced in 2006 by four LED video screens. In 2014, the arena was renovated again. The $6 million project removed the steel cloud, as well as added a new floor, LED lights, sound system, drapes, and two grand entrances to house a Hall of Fame and Legacy Hall.

On May 12, 1973, The Jackson 5 performed at the center.

The facility hosted the 1989 Western Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament.

In addition to athletics and concerts, the arena has hosted many academic and intellectual events over the years, such as a public lecture by renowned British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking in 1995, which was reported to be the largest live audience that Hawking had ever addressed at that time.

The facility hosted two games of the Utah Jazz Summer League in 2016 due to a concert at Vivint Arena. In 2017, the Utah Jazz Summer League moved to the Huntsman Center for all six games & four teams due to Vivint Arena undergoing renovations.

The 15,000-seat multi-purpose arena is home to the University of Utah's "Runnin' Utes" basketball teams (men's and women's), "Red Rocks" women's gymnastics team and women's volleyball team. It also hosts concerts, mostly second-tier acts; most premier concerts have been hosted at Vivint Arena (Delta Center).

Utah joined the Pac-12 in 2011 and the Huntsman Center became the largest arena in the conference.

The elevation at street level is approximately 4,780 feet (1,455 m) above sea level, second-highest in the Pac-12.

NCAA tournament

The Huntsman Center hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament 12 times (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2003, and 2006). It hosted the West Regional Final twice (1971, 1981) and one Final Four (1979). Due to the frequency of hosting first- and second-round games, the Huntsman Center is third all-time in NCAA Tournament games hosted, with 81.

Since 2010, NCAA tournament games in the city have been played at Delta Center, home of the NBA's Utah Jazz. Other venues for past NCAA games in the state include the Marriott Center in Provo and the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

1979 Final Four

The arena hosted the 1979 Final Four in late March, featuring the start of the rivalry between all-time greats Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Magic's Michigan State team defeated Bird's previously unbeaten Indiana State in the final on March 26, which remains the most-watched college basketball game in history. Many observers consider the Magic-Bird rivalry established here and carried into the NBA when both entered the league that fall to be a major factor in the league's 1980s renaissance.

References

"Attendance and Sites". 2014 Men's Final Four Records Book (PDF). Indianapolis, IN: NCAA Publications. 2014. p. 138. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
^ Scott, Ron (December 2, 1969). "No dust, less noise for Utes". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. B1.
Cadman, Chris. Michael Jackson: The Maestro. Pg. 668
"Deseret News: Hawking Gives 9,000 a Cosmic Thrill". 18 July 1995. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
Keith, Ron (April 2, 1979). "They caged the Bird". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
"'Magic act' gives MSU NCAA title". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). March 27, 1979. p. A1.
Ewer, Bill (March 27, 1979). "Magic keeps a promise and MSU reaches NCAA title goal". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 4B.
"Michigan State grounds Bird - wins title". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 27, 1979. p. 17.

External links

Preceded byCheckerdome

NCAA Men's Division I
Basketball tournament
Finals Venue
1979

Succeeded byMarket Square Arena

v t e University of Utah
Located in: Salt Lake City, Utah
Colleges	College of Architecture and Planning College of Engineering College of Science Honors College David Eccles School of Business School of Medicine S.J. Quinney College of Law
Institutes	Center for American Indian Languages Hinckley Institute of Politics Middle East Center Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute
Medical	ARUP Laboratories Huntsman Cancer Institute Moran Eye Center Primary Children's Hospital University Neuropsychiatric Institute University of Utah Hospital University Orthopaedic Center
Athletics	Utah Utes Baseball Men's basketball Women's basketball Football Gymnastics Lacrosse Women's soccer Swoop Pac-12 Conference
Campus	Block U Carlson Hall Fort Douglas George S. Eccles 2002 Legacy Bridge Huntsman Center Marriott Library Nielsen Fieldhouse Olympic Cauldron Plaza Presidents Circle Red Butte Garden Research Park Rice–Eccles Stadium Telescope Array Observatory Willard L. Eccles Observatory
Cultural	Kingsbury Hall Pioneer Theatre Company University of Utah Press Utah Museum of Fine Arts Natural History Museum of Utah
People	List of University of Utah people University of Utah Presidents
Broadcasting	Eccles Broadcast Center K-UTE PBS Utah Utah Education Network KUER-FM KUUB
Related	2017 University of Utah Hospital incident
Founded: 1850

v t e Utah Utes men's basketball
Venues	Deseret Gymnasium (19??–1939) Nielsen Fieldhouse (1939–1969) Jon M. Huntsman Center (1969–present)
Rivalries	BYU In-state Utah schools
Culture & lore	Gambling scandal Swoop
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t e Utah Utes women's basketball
Venues	Jon M. Huntsman Center (1975–present)
Rivalries	BYU In-state Utah schools
Culture & lore	History Swoop
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

v t e Basketball arenas of the Big 12 Conference
Current arenas	McKale Center (Arizona) Desert Financial Arena (Arizona State) Foster Pavilion (Baylor) Marriott Center (BYU) Fifth Third Arena (Cincinnati) CU Events Center (Colorado) Fertitta Center (Houston) Hilton Coliseum (Iowa State) Allen Fieldhouse (Kansas) Bramlage Coliseum (Kansas State) Gallagher-Iba Arena (Oklahoma State) Schollmaier Arena (TCU) United Supermarkets Arena (Texas Tech) Addition Financial Arena (UCF) Jon M. Huntsman Center (Utah) WVU Coliseum (West Virginia)

Basketball arenas of the Big 12 Conference

Current arenas

McKale Center (Arizona)
Desert Financial Arena (Arizona State)
Foster Pavilion (Baylor)
Marriott Center (BYU)
Fifth Third Arena (Cincinnati)
CU Events Center (Colorado)
Fertitta Center (Houston)
Hilton Coliseum (Iowa State)
Allen Fieldhouse (Kansas)
Bramlage Coliseum (Kansas State)
Gallagher-Iba Arena (Oklahoma State)
Schollmaier Arena (TCU)
United Supermarkets Arena (Texas Tech)
Addition Financial Arena (UCF)
Jon M. Huntsman Center (Utah)
WVU Coliseum (West Virginia)

v t e NCAA Division I college basketball venues in Utah
Big Sky	Dee Events Center (Weber State)
Big 12	Marriott Center (BYU) Jon M. Huntsman Center (Utah)
MW	Smith Spectrum (Utah State)
WAC	America First Event Center (Southern Utah) Burns Arena (Utah Tech) UCCU Center (Utah Valley)

Categories:

History

NCAA tournament

1979 Final Four

See also

References

External links