Carver–Hawkeye Arena
| "Carver" | |
| Former names | Hawkeye Sports Arena (planning) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1 Elliot Drive Iowa City, Iowa 52242 |
| Owner | University of Iowa |
| Operator | University of Iowa |
| Capacity | 15,400 (2011–present) 15,500 (1983–2011) |
| Surface | Parquet |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | July 15, 1980 |
| Opened | January 3, 1983 |
| Renovated | 2009–2011 |
| Construction cost |
$18.4 million ($44.2 million in 2016 dollars) |
| Architect |
Caudill Rowlett Scott Durant Group |
| Structural engineer | Geiger Berger Associates |
| General contractor | CRS/Knutson |
| Tenants | |
| Iowa Hawkeyes men's and women's basketball, gymnastics, volleyball, and wrestling | |
Carver–Hawkeye Arena is a 15,400-seat multi-purpose indoor arena located in Iowa City, Iowa. Opened in 1983, it is the home court for The University of Iowa Hawkeyes men's and women's basketball teams, as well as the university's wrestling, gymnastics, and volleyball teams. It was named for the late industrialist Roy J. Carver of Muscatine, Iowa, a prominent statewide booster, who donated $9.2 million to The University of Iowa before his death in 1981. Prior to the arena's opening, Iowa's athletic teams played at the Iowa Field House.
Entirely funded by private contributions, the arena was expected to be open for the 1982–83 school year, but weather slowed construction to the point where the first event was held on January 3, 1983. Iowa's wrestling team defeated Oklahoma and two days later, the men's basketball team played their first game – a loss to Michigan State – in the new arena.
Notable athletic events in the arena include the Big Ten and NCAA wrestling championships, the National Duals, the U.S. Olympic wrestling trials in 1984 and 2012, and the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament.
The arena also serves as the site of commencement exercises for several of the university's colleges, and has hosted concerts by artists such as Whitney Houston, Stevie Nicks, *NSYNC, Metallica, Guns N' Roses, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, and speeches by Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton as well as Desmond Tutu and Jane Goodall. Carver-Hawkeye has also hosted many of Hancher Auditorium's performances since that building sustained damage in the Iowa flood of 2008. It also hosted World Wrestling Entertainment while its primary Eastern Iowa venue, the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, underwent renovations from 2011 to 2013.
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