McCarthey Athletic Center

McCarthey Athletic Center is a 6,000-seat indoor arena in the northwest United States, located on the campus of Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Opened in November 2004,[3] it is home to the university's Bulldog basketball programs, members of the West Coast Conference (WCC) in Division I of the NCAA.

McCarthey Athletic Center
The New Kennel, K2, The Kennel
February 2013
LocationGonzaga University
801 N. Cincinnati Street
Spokane, Washington
Coordinates47.665°N 117.399°W / 47.665; -117.399
OwnerGonzaga University
OperatorGonzaga University
Capacity6,000
SurfaceHardwood
Construction
Broke groundApril 24, 2003[1][2]
OpenedNovember 19, 2004[3]
Construction cost$25 million
($33.8 million in 2021 [4])
ArchitectALSC Architects[5] & Ellerbe Becket[6]
Project managerGarco Construction Inc.[7]
Structural engineerDCI Engineers Inc.[7]
Tenants
Gonzaga Bulldogs (2004–present)
(Men's and Women's basketball)
(West Coast Conference, NCAA)
Website
McCarthey Athletic Center
Spokane
Location in the United States
Spokane
Location in Washington

Often called "The New Kennel," its nickname was inherited from the school's former basketball arena, Charlotte Y. Martin Centre, popularly known as "The Kennel," which had been home to the Bulldogs for 39 years. As the MAC has become the established basketball arena on campus, more fans have begun calling it simply "The Kennel," with the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre being known as the "Martin Centre." The elevation of the court is approximately 1,900 feet (580 m) above sea level.

History

Ground was broken in April 2003 on the site of the baseball venue, Pecarovich Field.[1][2] The arena's naming rights went to the McCarthey brothers of Salt Lake City, as a result of major gifts by Gonzaga trustee Philip McCarthey and regent Thomas McCarthey; both are GU alumni and former owners of The Salt Lake Tribune. The new baseball stadium was later built to the south and opened in 2007;[8][9] in the interim, Bulldogs played at Avista Stadium, home of the minor league Spokane Indians of the short-season Northwest League.

McCarthey Athletic Center opened in autumn 2004 on November 19, a 98–80 non-conference win over Portland State.[3] In its second season, it hosted the WCC post-season tournament in March 2006;[10] it was the event's first time in Spokane, as the original "Kennel" was considered too small and the larger Spokane Arena was unavailable due to annual scheduling conflicts. Gonzaga narrowly won its two games: the semifinal with San Diego went to overtime,[11] and the final over Loyola Marymount was won by a single point.[12]

By February 2007, Gonzaga had 38 consecutive wins in the arena and a 50-game winning streak at home dating back to the Martin Centre. The Santa Clara Broncos ended what was, at the time, the longest home win streak in the NCAA. In February 2015, BYU snapped Gonzaga's 41-game home winning streak in the McCarthey Athletic Center, which was also the longest active home winning streak in the NCAA at the time.[13]

Through February 6, 2020, the Zags are 223–15 (.937) in the McCarthey Athletic Center, which includes a 105–8 (.929) record in non-conference games, a 116–7 (.943) record in conference games, and a 2–0 (1.000) record in the WCC Tournament.[14][15]

Concert venue

The arena has also served as a venue for concerts by Switchfoot, Yellowcard, Ben Folds, Death Cab for Cutie, and Jay Sean.[16] Comedians such as Bill Cosby, Jeff Foxworthy, and Kevin Hart have also performed.[17][18]

Records
  • On January 16, 2010, Heather Bowman broke the WCC women's basketball all-time points record.[19]
  • On March 21, 2011, Courtney Vandersloot became the first basketball player (men's or women's) to score 2,000 points and tally 1,000 assists in their career.[20]

NCAA Women's Tournament

In October 2009, NCAA announced that McCarthey Athletic Center would be one of 16 locations that would host the first and second rounds of the Division I Women's Basketball Tournament in 2011.[21] It also hosted the first and second rounds in 2012 and 2013.[22][23]

See also

References
  1. "Gonzaga breaks ground for new basketball arena". Lewiston Morning Tribune. wire reports. April 25, 2003. p. 2B.
  2. "Ground broken for new Gonzaga arena". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). Associated Press. April 25, 2003. p. 6B.
  3. Bergum, Steve (November 20, 2004). "Zags win to open McCarthey era". Spokesman-Review. p. C1.
  4. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  5. https://www.alscarchitects.com/portfolio/sports-and-recreation/gonzaga-mccarthey-athletic-center/
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 25, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Bulldogs break in a new house for hoops". SportsBusiness Daily. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
  8. Breeze, Somer (June 7, 2006). "New era for Gonzaga". Spokesman-Review. p. C1.
  9. "Bulldogs win in new stadium". Spokesman-Review. March 16, 2007. p. C3.
  10. Bergum, Steve (March 3, 2006). "Opening act set in WCC men's tournament". Spokesman-Review. p. C4.
  11. Bergum, Steve (March 6, 2006). "Zags dig in, escape with win". Spokesman-Review. p. C1.
  12. Bergum, Steve (March 7, 2006). "Sigh of relief". Spokesman-Review. p. C1.
  13. "BYU beats No. 3 Gonzaga, ending nation's longest home win streak". February 28, 2015.
  14. "Gonzaga MBB Hosts Saint Mary's on Senior Night". February 19, 2016.
  15. "Gonzaga Season Statistics 2016-17". Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  16. "No spring concert this year". February 14, 2012.
  17. "McCarthey Athletic Center timeline". December 20, 2014.
  18. "Gonzaga Students Present Comedian Kevin Hart Sept. 9 at McCarthey Athletic Center". August 24, 2015.
  19. "Bowman Becomes WCC All-Time Leading Scorer In Win". January 16, 2010.
  20. "Courtney Vandersloot hits D-I record". March 21, 2011.
  21. "GU, WSU to host NCAA women's tournament games". October 29, 2009.
  22. "NCAA Selects Division I First And Second-Recond, Regional Sites For 2012". October 26, 2010.
  23. "Sites for 2013 tournament announced". February 19, 2012. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
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