History
Pratt Pavilion features two indoor courts that allow both men's and women's basketball teams to practice at the same time. Pratt Pavilion also includes team meeting rooms, film rooms, a weight room and training room.
Directly connected to the arena, Pratt Pavilion features convenient, ground-level parking. The 70,000-square-foot structure boasts balconies at the south side of the building which overlook the practice courts.
The west facade of the building is glassed from the first floor to the second floor, allowing visibility of gallery and display areas from the street. The building is a significant element to the picturesque south entrance to the University of Tennessee campus.
The facility is named after lead donor Larry Pratt, whose love for Tennessee athletics began at a young age, when his father, Floyd, brought him to various sporting events at Neyland Stadium, Alumni Gym and Stokely Athletics Center.
In the 1990s, Pratt honored his father by creating an endowed scholarship in his name as a member of the Nathan Dougherty Society.
He also was recognized at the Tennessee-Georgia football game in 2003 for a $1 million donation to the STEP-UP Campaign.
A native of Athens, Tenn., Pratt currently resides in McLean, Va. He graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1972 with a degree from the College of Business and serves as president and CEO of First Savings Mortgage Corporation, the largest private mortgage banker in Washington, D.C.
His $5 million commitment in April 2006, made Pratt Pavilion possible along with 341 other individual contributors through the Campaign for Tennessee Basketball.
Other areas within Pratt Pavilion have been named in honor of other donors whose support for UT also helped make the project a reality:
- Brenda Lawson Court
- Frankie Ellis Wade Balcony
- Kevin & Michelle Clayton Locker Room (men's)
- John Ward Film Room
The UT Athletic Department first broke ground on the Pratt Pavilion in August 2006, and teams began practicing in the new structure on Oct. 12, 2007. Tennessee's newest world-class basketball facility was officially unveiled and dedicated on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2008.
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