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Dale F. Halton Arena / Barnhardt Student Activities Center (SAC) / Charlotte, N.C.
The lively dynamics of this multiuse facility will likely change as the campus outgrows the current student center. A new $65-million student union now under construction is expected to open in fall 2009. Charlotte is a fast-growing campus in the midst of a seven-year 30 percent growth spurt -- reaching 25,000 students by 2010 with another 10,000 students projected by 2020. So, even though the current SAC is only 11 years old, the center of student activity will head further north on campus to accommodate the rapid growth. How the existing Barnhardt will change is not yet known, but it appears inevitable that some major renovations are on the way.
Multiuse arenas almost always require major compromises. In the instance of Halton Arena, the intrusion is kept to a minimum. In fact, the marriage of student center and basketball arena brings some impressive advantages. Obviously, bringing students together with the arena makes a stronger connection to the teams using the venue. So, it isn’t surprising to learn that Charlotte student support for the basketball team has been very strong, ranking in the top 10 nationally at times. Not surprisingly, the 49ers have performed especially well at home in the decade-plus of hosting games on campus. Charlotte qualified for the NCAAs three-straight years immediately after the arena opened. Prior to Halton, the men’s basketball team played its home games off campus. It was a sad situation for a program that had produced the talented Cedric “Cornbread” Maxwell and an NCAA final four team in 1977.
You’ll be comfortable in your seat at Halton – all have stadium-style chair backs. If you’re seated in the cozy lower bowl, you’re assured of a great view of the action. A three-lane indoor track separates the lower bowl and upper sections. While you wouldn’t be able to run the Drake Relays on this track, the feeling that you’re a little bit removed from the court action is unavoidable when you’re sitting in an upper section behind the basket. The sideline upper section seats between the baselines feel closer to the action.
From an athlete’s perspective, Halton Arena has a lot to offer. This has been especially so since 2003 when the 30,000 square foot Miltimore-Wallis Athletic Training and Academic Center was completed on the north end of Barnhardt. Along with extensive academic facilities for student-athletes, the combined space provides four auxiliary gym floors, two weight rooms, an aerobic center, a rock-climbing wall, game room and spacious locker rooms. No wonder Barnhardt Student Activity Center and Halton Arena are the center of activity on this growing campus. Although a multipurpose facility inevitably will have downsides, we found the Halton Arena experience to be mostly favorable. Charlotte is a growing, energetic metropolitan area, and the feeling carries over to the college campus. It will be interesting to see how this venue changes after relocation of the student union is complete.
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(out of five)
Dale
F. Halton Arena is the centerpiece of the
Barnhardt Student Activity Center (commonly
known as "the SAC") on the University of North
Carolina Charlotte (UNCC) campus. Hosting the
49ers men’s and women’s basketball teams, the
volleyball team and a wide array of campus
activities and other events, this is a bustling
place most of the time.
If
you want to see how a basketball arena coexists
with a very busy student center, you’ll probably
want to check out the facility no later than
during the 2008-09 school year. It’s likely that
major work outside the arena will get underway
fairly soon after the student center transition.
The good news is the Halton Arena interior appears
adequate to meet the campus’ needs at least for
the next few years.
The
SAC gives you plenty of room to mill around
before the game and at halftime as the arena
empties on the south end into the student center
commons area. You can pick from a wide array of
food choices offered at four well-staffed
concession stands just outside the arena. If you
come hungry, full meal choices are plentiful.
Barbecue is a North Carolina staple, and the SAC
offers a nice platter with hush puppies and
coleslaw for $7.50. Lighter fare includes a $3
cheeseburger and pizza for $4 a slice. Carmel
corn, popcorn, nachos and ice cream are also
available.
Even
if you’re seated some distance from the court,
you’ll get drawn in by the high energy in Halton
Arena. We attended a men’s basketball game against
St. Louis and were impressed with the crowd’s
enthusiasm en route to an easy 49ers victory.
Halton is one of the brightest-tuned arenas around
with crowd sounds reverberating constantly. The
only downside to the brightness is a real problem
with the clarity of the PA system. Perhaps the
sound is easier to hear for quieter events such as
university commencement exercises, but when the
crowd is roaring it can be very difficult to
discern the announcer.