Harry A. Gampel Pavilion is a 10,167-seat multi-purpose arena in Storrs, Connecticut, United States, on the campus of the University of Connecticut. The arena opened on January 21, 1990, and is the largest on-campus arena in New England. It was named after industrialist and 1943 UConn graduate Harry A. Gampel, a philanthropist who walked with Martin Luther King Jr., and who donated one million dollars for the construction of the arena. It is about 216,000 sq ft (20,100 m2). Gampel Pavilion is the primary home to the Connecticut Huskies men's basketball, women's basketball, and women's volleyball teams.
For most of the time since the late 1990s, the men's basketball team has played most of their more important games at the XL Center in Hartford. During the 2011â€"12 season, the men's basketball team played 11 home games in Hartford and only eight at Gampel.
The pavilion is the centerpiece of the UConn Sports Center, which also includes Wolff-Zackin Natatorium.
Construction
It replaced the Hugh S. Greer Field House, which only held 4,604 people and still stands to the northwest of the pavilion. The facility has been expanded three times. As originally constructed, it seated 8,241. After the 1995â€"96 season, 1,900 seats were added around the entrances, increasing capacity to 10,027. A seating adjustment after the 2001â€"02 season added 140 more seats to result in the current capacity.
First game
The first basketball game was played on January 27, 1990, between the then 20th ranked Connecticut Huskies and the 15th ranked St. John's Red Storm. Connecticut won 72â€"58.
Home court advantage
Since 1990 through 2016 the Huskies men's basketball team has a 168â€"30 record at Gampel Pavilion.
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Banners
The banners for the men's and women's basketball teams have been taken down and in their place are now large boards on the walls listing the years the teams have made the NIT, NCAA Tournament, Sweet 16, and Elite 8, along with their Big East Regular Season and Tournament Championships. The National Championship Banners and NIT Championship Banners have been replaced with newer versions, along with banners commemorating Jim Calhoun and Geno Auriemma's Hall of Fame inductions.
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