Dean E. Smith Center
| The Dean Dome | |
 |
|
| Full name | Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center |
|---|---|
| Location | 300 Skipper Bowles Drive Chapel Hill, NC 27514 |
| Coordinates | 35°53′59″N 79°2′38″W / 35.89972°N 79.04389°WCoordinates: 35°53′59″N 79°2′38″W / 35.89972°N 79.04389°W |
| Owner | University of North Carolina |
| Operator | University of North Carolina |
| Capacity | 21,750 |
| Surface | Hardwood |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | April 17, 1982 |
| Opened | January 18, 1986 |
| Expanded | 1992, 2000 |
| Construction cost | $33.8 million ($73.8 million in 2017 dollars) |
| Architect | Corley Redfoot Architects, Inc. |
| Structural engineer | Geiger Engineers |
| Services engineer | Henderson Engineers, Inc. |
| General contractor | Paul Howard Construction |
| Tenants | |
| North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball (NCAA) (1986–present) | |
The Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center (usually called simply the Dean Smith Center and popularly referred to as the Dean Dome) is a multi-purpose arena in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The arena is home to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels men's basketball team, and temporary home to the women's team during renovations to Carmichael Auditorium. The arena opened in 1986.
The arena is named after former North Carolina men's basketball coach Dean Smith, who coached the team from 1961 to 1997. Smith coached the last 11.5 years of his career in the arena, making him one of the few college coaches in any sport to coach in an arena or stadium that is named for him.
By the early 1980s, there was a consensus that the Tar Heels needed a larger arena than the 10,180-seat Carmichael Auditorium. According to David Halberstam's biography of Michael Jordan, Smith did not want the arena named after him, but was persuaded by the UNC administration and the arena's backers that fundraising efforts for the facility could fail if they did not use his name. The first game at the new arena featured the #1 Tar Heels against the #3 Duke Blue Devils on January 18, 1986. Mark Alarie of Duke scored the first basket, but Warren Martin soon followed with the first Tar Heel basket in the new arena, Kenny Smith was credited with the assist. North Carolina ended up defeating Duke 95–92.
The arena originally seated 21,444. Seating adjustments brought capacity to 21,572 in 1992 and 21,750 in 2000.
The largest crowd to see a game in the Dean Dome was on March 6, 2005, when 22,125 fans saw the Tar Heels win 75–73 against Duke. The arena is somewhat spread out, making the seats seem far from the floor. However, the sight lines throughout most of the arena are very good, as they are almost the same as those of Carmichael Auditorium. The only obstructed seats are in the upper rows of the lower level, where the view is partially cut off by the upper level's overhang.
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