2010 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship First & Second Round - University of Tennessee

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THOMPSON-BOLING ASSEMBLY CENTER AND ARENA

Arena Directions | Arena Seating Map

Tennessee recently invested more than $35 million in basketball, including a $20 million investment to renovate Thompson-Boling Arena.
This was the first major improvement to Thompson Boling Arena since it was built in 1987.
TBA renovations were done in a two phase process:

Phase I of the TBA improvements began construction in March 2007. Phase I included concourse improvements, new seats for the entire arena, a center hung scoreboard, luxury suites and loge seating.
Phase II began following the 2007-08 season and included a new lighting system, replacement of ceiling panels, new ticket kiosks and new food courts.

Funding for the project came from donors to the Campaign for Tennessee Basketball and revenue from premium seating areas such as Thompson-Boling Arena luxury suites and loge seats.
The luxury suites include 32 suites in the 300 level of Thompson-Boling Arena, with each suite adjoining a large kitchen and seating area. The luxury suites sold out prior to the 2007-2008 basketball season.
Loge seating holds 166 large cushioned side court seats, located directly below the luxury suites in the 200 level. The loge seating has access to a private adjoining hospitality area. Loge seats are available for a $4,000 annual donation and the ticket fee to both Lady Vol and Vol basketball games.

Thompson-Boling Arena's floor was renamed The Summitt to begin the 2005-06 season.

New Scoreboard and Electronics

Thompson-Boling Arena offered fans a complete integrated video, scoring and advertising display system for the first time during the 2007-08 season. The new multimillion dollar system features the latest in full-color, light emitting diode (LED) display technology for Big Orange basketball.

The new system is highlighted by a state-of-the-art center-hung display. The focal point of the display features four ProStar® video displays providing high-resolution, crystal clear, live and recorded video and replay. Each of these displays measures approximately 9 feet 6 inches high by 18 feet wide with 10 millimeter (.39 inch) line spacing and will be configured in the 16:9 aspect ratio to accommodate the display of high definition (HD) video. Below the video displays, four additional digital displays will inform and entertain fans with full-color animation, game information and statistics. Separating the digital displays are decorative structures identifying and illuminating the Lady Vol logo. Lighting up the top and bottom of the center hung are ProAd® digital ring displays providing complete message flexibility.

In addition to the main center-hung scoreboard, Daktronics LED technology is utilized in six LED ProTable® digital scorer's tables. The fully digital scorer's tables have the ability to display real-time team and player statistics, colorful graphics, exciting animation and video clips. These ProTable® displays utilize 10 millimeter (.39 inch) LED pixel pitch for exceptional image clarity and wide-angle viewing.

Fans and athletes are informed by four large fixed digit scoring displays mounted in each corner of the arena. Each of these displays measures approximately three feet high by 41 feet wide and offer basic game information.

The Thompson-Boling Assembly Center and Arena is one of the largest on-campus arenas in the country…and the toughest place in the country to leave with a win versus the University of Tennessee Lady Vols.

In recent years, UT women's basketball has enjoyed a number of lengthy home winning streaks. On Dec. 28, 2003, Texas snapped a 24-game run that dated back to the 2001-02 season. A previous streak of 26 consecutive wins in the home confines ended on Jan. 5, 2002, with an 86-72 loss to Connecticut. The Lady Vols broke the NCAA homecourt winning streak record with 69 consecutive victories before Connecticut spoiled the streak with a 59-53 win in game number 70 on Jan. 6, 1996. Tennessee claimed 64 straight home SEC victories before third-ranked LSU snapped the streak with a 72-69 victory – its first ever in Knoxville – on Feb. 9, 2006.

The Thompson-Boling Arena is a mammoth structure, located on the banks of the Tennessee River. It was named for B. Ray Thompson and retired UT President Edward J. Boling. The building is 448 feet long and 310 feet wide. It contains more than 411,000 square feet of floor space and more than 17 million cubic feet of space.

Following renovations in 2007, the Thompson-Boling Arena now has an official seating capacity of 21,678. As part of a $19 million renovation of the arena prior to the 2007-08 season, 32 luxury suites were added to the existing north balcony along with a loge area just below the suites that included 166 side court seats. A $3 million center hung scoreboard, new black seats and several concourse refurbishments were also part of the renovation.

The enormous facility houses the Tennessee Lady Vol basketball offices. Ticket facilities are located on the Phillip Fulmer Way level on the west end of the building.

A continuous-ring concourse encircles the building, permitting entrance to eight restrooms, six concession areas and 32 portals that lead to the arena. The playing floor level provides access to team dressing rooms, the press rooms and storage rooms.

The distance from the playing floor to the roof is 120 feet, the equivalent of a 12-story building. The structure contains 142,000 square feet of roof area, which is approximately three and one-quarter acres.

Nearly every season that the Lady Vols have played in the arena – attendance records have gone by the wayside. In 1998-99, the Lady Vols played before the largest average home crowd in the history of women's collegiate basketball as 16,565 spectators clicked through the turnstiles at each of the Lady Vols' 14 home games. In all, 231,915 fans viewed home games in Knoxville. During the 1997-98 season, Tennessee raised the roof with a bunch of collegiate attendance records. On Jan. 3, 1998, the Lady Vols entertained a new women's collegiate record 24,597 fans for the game with the Connecticut Huskies. A month later, the first advance sell-out in UT Women's Athletics history occurred when the Lady Vols were set to meet Old Dominion in Knoxville. For the record, 24,373 fans attended the UT-ODU game. The all-time attendance mark was reset during the 2001-02 season when 24,611 fans visited the arena for a #1/#2 clash between UT and Connecticut. It was again reset on Jan. 7, 2006, when the Huskies came to Knoxville in front of 24,653 spectators. The women's basketball attendance mark was established at the NCAA Final Four when 29,619 people filled the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, for the semifinals and finals.

The Lady Vols started the record-breaking trend in women's collegiate basketball attendance in 1987. That season, the Lady Vols broke the (then) world record for single game attendance at a women's basketball game with 24,563 at the Tennessee versus Texas game on Dec. 9, 1987. Three years later, the UT Women's Athletics Department established new NCAA Women's Final Four attendance marks on March 30 and April 1, 1990, with a total paid attendance of 39,490 for the three-game event. The turnstile count of 34,196 (17,601 semis/16,595 finals) also broke all other attendance marks.

Directions to Thompson-Boling Arena

From the Airport

From Eastbound I-40

From Westbound I-40

From I-75 (Turns into I-275)

Thompson-Boling Arena Seating Map

Please note the seating structure changes in the post season.
The upper level will be sold once the lower section is filled.