Blue Heaven | |
 Interior in 2006, before renovation | |
 | |
| Full name | William Donald Carmichael, Jr. Arena |
|---|---|
| Former names | Carmichael Auditorium (1965–2010) |
| Location | 310 South Rd Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States |
| Coordinates | 35°54.57155′N 79°2.72447′W / 35.90952583°N 79.04540783°W |
| Owner | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| Operator | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| Capacity | 6,822 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | May 1964 |
| Opened | December 4, 1965 |
| Renovated | 1998, 2008–2009 |
| Expanded | 1976 |
| Construction cost | $1.725 million (original construction) $36.4 million (2008-09 renovation)[1] |
| Architect | Corley Redfoot Architects (2008-09 renovation) |
| Structural engineer | LHC Structural Engineers (2008-09 renovation) |
| Tenants | |
| North Carolina Tar Heels (NCAA) Men's basketball (1965–1986) Women's basketball (1975–present) Women's gymnastics (1982–present) Wrestling (1965–present) | |
William Donald Carmichael Jr. Arena (formerly known as Carmichael Auditorium and commonly known as Blue Heaven) is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. It is home to four Tar Heels athletic teams: women's basketball, volleyball, women's gymnastics, and wrestling. It is named for William Donald Carmichael Jr., a popular former school vice-president and brother of All-America basketball player Cartwright Carmichael.
Although there had been concerns as early as the late 1940s that the men's basketball team's needed a new home to replace 6,000-seat Woollen Gymnasium, the need for a larger arena had become acute by the 1960s with the team's growing popularity. The Tar Heels were forced to move home games to Charlotte or Greensboro, which were more than double Woollen's size.
However, the state was unwilling to fund a completely new arena. As a result, Carmichael Auditorium was built as an annex to Woollen; it shares the older facility's eastern wall. It originally seated just over 8,800 people, but was expanded to 10,000 seats in 1976.[2]
Carmichael was known as one of the loudest arenas in the country while the Tar Heel men played there, largely because of a low roof and a student section that ringed the court.[3] In part due to this formidable home court advantage, the men had a record of 169–20 (.894) in just over 20 seasons there. Dean Smith was the Tar Heels' coach for their entire tenure in Carmichael. The Tar Heels won their second NCAA title in 1981–82, while playing at the arena.
In their last game at Carmichael, the 1985-86 Tar Heels men's team beat the North Carolina State Wolfpack 90–79 on January 4, 1986. The team moved to the Dean Smith Center two weeks later. After a remodeling project completed in 2009, capacity is 8,010.
A new floor was installed in 1998, after a roof fire that occurred in February during renovations. The arena was completely remodeled beginning in spring 2008, and the women's team joined the men in the Dean Smith Center until completion in December 2009. The facility was officially renamed Carmichael Arena during the women's team's matchup against rival Duke on February 28, 2010.
- ^ "UNC Facilities Planning & Construction". fpcfeed.facilities.unc.edu. Archived from the original on 26 July 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ Thomas Rogers (January 5, 1986). "House That $ Built". The New York Times (subscription required). p. 10. ProQuest 424475058.
- ^ Powell, Adam (2005). University of North Carolina Basketball. ISBN 9780738541501.