Knapp Center

Knapp Center
	"The Knapp"
Location	2601 Forest Avenue; Des Moines, Iowa 50311 U.S.
Coordinates	41°36′16″N 93°39′7″W
Owner	Drake University
Operator	Drake University
Capacity	7,152
Surface	Hardwood
Construction
Broke ground	1990
Opened	December 1, 1992
Construction cost	$12.5 million; ($22.8 million in 2019 dollars[1])
Architect	RDG Planning & Design
General contractor	Taylor Ball Construction Company
Tenants
	Drake Bulldogs (NCAA DI) (1992–present)

The Knapp Center is a 7,152-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was built in 1992.

The Knapp Center is the center building for three athletic buildings combined together. The Bell Center to the west is a general athletic building with offices, a pool, gym, and locker rooms. To the east is the Shivers' Basketball Practice facility, which opened in 2014. The Knapp Center itself also holds a weight room by the northwest corner of the basketball court.

The namesake of the arena comes from William Knapp, who is the chairman of Iowa Realty and a member of the Drake University Board of Trustees. He played a key role in financing the arena with a $3 million gift towards construction.[2]

After receiving a donation from Hy-Vee, the court was named in honor of Des Moines East graduate, Drake alum, and the former Hy-Vee CEO Ron Pearson as "Ron Pearson Court" on September 18, 2010.[2]

Events

The arena is the home arena for Drake Men's and Women's Basketball and Drake Women's Volleyball. The first Drake Bulldogs basketball game was played on December 5, 1992. The women's basketball team currently has a Missouri Valley Conference record 16 consecutive home conference wins at the Knapp Center dating back to the 2014–15 season.

During the Drake Relays the arena hosts the Beautiful Bulldog Contest and serves as a media center for athlete interviews along with providing additional locker room and warm-up facilities for athletes.

Each May, in addition to Drake University commencement ceremonies the arena hosts numerous area high school graduation ceremonies.

The arena has also hosted media & campaign spin rooms during on-campus political debates and hosted various academic lectures, including lectures from Maya Angelou, Tim Gunn, and former President Jimmy Carter.

Gallery

Inside the Knapp Center
Inside the Knapp Center during the Iowa vs Drake game on December 18, 2010

References

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
2011-12 Drake Men's Basketball Yearbook

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[inflation-US-1] Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.

[media_guide-2] 2011-12 Drake Men's Basketball Yearbook

Drake Bulldogs men's basketball
Venues	The Shed (1907–1909) Alumni Gymnasium (1910–1919) Des Moines Coliseum (1920–1926) Drake Fieldhouse (1927–1957) Veterans Memorial Auditorium (1957–1992) Knapp Center (1992–present)
Culture & lore	History Iowa "Big Four"
People	Head coaches All-Century Team
Seasons	1906–07 1907–08 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
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

Drake University
Located in: Des Moines, Iowa
Colleges	Pharmacy and Health Sciences Law School
Campus	Drake University Campus Historic District Drake Stadium Knapp Center The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement
Athletics	Drake Bulldogs Drake Relays Football Men's basketball Women's basketball Men's Soccer
People	President: Earl F. "Marty" Martin Francis M. Drake Notable Alumni
Founded: 1881 Students: 3,164 Endowment: 211.0 million

Knapp Center

Events

Gallery

See also

References

External links