From fantastic to forgettable: Big Ten basketball arenas, ranked

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3. Williams Arena, Minnesota
The oldest arena in the Big Ten, Williams Arena gets the best marks in the Big Ten for architecture.

The epitome of the "old barn" style of arena, Williams has an incredibly high ceiling in a rectangle-shaped building. Its raised floor is one of the most unique basketball arena atmospheres in the Big Ten, and the building as a whole has an old school feel without being dumpy.

Now if the Gophers could just win a few more games and draw a bit more interest in a town with plenty of other entertainment options, the old barn could rival Assembly Hall in terms of atmosphere. As of right now, that isn't happening. But if we were judging arenas based on just the buildings, Williams would be at the top.

https://www.mlive.com/expo/sports/g66l-2019/01/94cb51cf478718/from-fantastic-to-forgettable.html
 

Wow, that photo of The Barn is at least 15 years old. It's like a Where's Waldo of the past:

- benches, not seats where the teams sit
- baskets tethered to the ceiling, not stanchions
- dribbling Goldy at center court
- old scoreboard
- absence of B1G logo in the lanes
- permanent advertisements, not ribbon boards, on the upper deck fascia
 

WindyCityGopher said:
Wow, that photo of The Barn is at least 15 years old. It's like a Where's Waldo of the past:

- benches, not seats where the teams sit
- baskets tethered to the ceiling, not stanchions
- dribbling Goldy at center court
- old scoreboard
- absence of B1G logo in the lanes
- permanent advertisements, not ribbon boards, on the upper deck fascia
Click to expand...

The court did look better then.

Looks like the floor is set up for a Lynx exhibition game with the way that the lane is drawn and the 3 pt arc, could also be a NIT game. The Big 10 logo is pre-B1G,so must have been before Nebraska was let in.
 


Been to each one several times and i have Williams 2nd, Assembly 1st.
 


Barn not the same with the white floor clearly. How long are we stuck with that floor?
 

Kohl Center was rated too high. It's like a Soviet Era bunker with extremely narrow entry points from the outer mezzanine to the seats. I went to a few high school state tournaments there and found it pretty unspectacular.
 

It's hard to argue with this list. Having been to the Barn, Maryland, Nebraska and PSU, I'd say those 4 are in the right spots. I figured Rutgers would be last, but PSU is really sad and pathetic, especially once you've been to a football game there.
 

MennoSota said:
Kohl Center was rated too high. It's like a Soviet Era bunker with extremely narrow entry points from the outer mezzanine to the seats. I went to a few high school state tournaments there and found it pretty unspectacular.
Click to expand...

Guy who wrote article rated it ninth and then called it the “upper half” of the list.
I’m guessing he went to Michigan state not michigan
 



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