Alexander Memorial Coliseum
| The Thrillerdome | |
The Alexander Memorial Coliseum in July 2010
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| Former names | Alexander Memorial Coliseum (1956-2012) |
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| Location | 965 Fowler St, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 |
| Coordinates | 33°46′51″N 84°23′34″W / 33.78083°N 84.39278°WCoordinates: 33°46′51″N 84°23′34″W / 33.78083°N 84.39278°W |
| Owner | Georgia Tech |
| Operator | Georgia Tech |
| Capacity | 8,600 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | November 30, 1956 November 9, 2012 (re-opening) |
| Closed | March 6, 2011 (renovations) |
| Construction cost | $1.6 million ($14.1 million in 2017 dollars) $45 million (2012 renovation) |
| Architect | Aeck Associates of Atlanta |
| Tenants | |
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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (NCAA) (1956–2011, 2012–present) Atlanta Hawks (NBA) (1968–1972, 1997–1999) Atlanta Dream (WNBA) (2017-2018) |
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The Hank McCamish Pavilion (formerly known as the Alexander Memorial Coliseum, also nicknamed The Dome or The Thrillerdome,) is an indoor arena located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is the home of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball and Yellow Jackets women's basketball teams, which represent the Georgia Institute of Technology.
The venue previously hosted the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA from 1968 to 1972 and again from 1997 to 1999. Tech's women's volleyball team occasionally uses the facility as well, primarily for NCAA tournament games and other matches that draw crowds that would overflow the O'Keefe Gymnasium.
The 270-foot-diameter (82 m) Alexander Coliseum opened in 1956 at the intersection of 10th Street and Fowler on the northeast end of the Georgia Tech campus. The building was named for William A. Alexander, Georgia Tech's football coach from 1920 to 1944 and the third athletic director (after John W. Heisman); his tenure as coach included the 1928 Rose Bowl team (the 1928 season, the Rose Bowl itself was played on January 1, 1929.) The huge dome was constructed in a way in which there are no support pillars to obstruct the view of any fans during games. It served as a replacement for the Third Street Gymnasium (later known as the Heisman Gym) on the campus of Georgia Tech, an 1,800 seat arena opened just 18 years before. The arena's original capacity was 6,996 seats, though crowds larger than that sometimes assembled for big games.
Between 1956 and 1996, the Coliseum had undergone three major renovations. In 1986, 2,150 seats were added in what was previously an upper walkway around the rim of the arena. In 1989–1990, 750 seats were added in the endzone areas. The last major renovation was during 1995–1996, prior to the 1996 Summer Olympics. The floor was lowered 4 feet to increase seating, 12 luxury suites were added, and many of the benches were replaced with chairback seats. Sightlines were also improved for those sitting in the first few rows of the side of the court opposite the benches. Connected to the south end of the Coliseum are the Luck Building, and the Coliseum Annex. The facility was renamed Alexander Memorial Coliseum at McDonald's Center for 10 seasons from 1996 to 2005 in conjunction with a $5.5 million donation to help pay for the mid-1990s renovation, which increased seating capacity to 9,191.
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