Largest college basketball arenas by capacity include Carrier Dome, Rupp Arena, Dean Smith Center, Capital One Arena and KFC Yum! Center.
Unlike NBA arenas by teams, college basketball arenas also serve as the home for their respective teams in NCAA D1 basketball tournaments for men and women.
They are located either on the campus premises or off the premises according to the several states and college programs.
There are few of the stadiums that possess a bigger capacity in terms of seating compared to others. JMA Wireless Dome also called Carrier Dome has one of the largest seating capacities in college basketball with a capacity of 34,446.
Meanwhile, the smallest college basketball arena is the G.B Hodge Center located in the Big South which consists of 878 capacity and is home to USC Upstate.
7. Madison Square Garden, St John's
Madison Square Garden seating capacity is 19,812 and is the 7th largest college basketball stadium.
It is a multipurpose indoor stadium in New York City and is home to St. John's and major league teams like the Knicks and Rangers. It was opened on 11th February 1968.
The Garden usually hosts professional ice hockey, basketball, boxing, mixed martial arts, concerts, and other forms of sports and entertainment.
The venue is considered one of the oldest NBA arenas and the second oldest arena in NHL and also the college basketball stadiums.
The stadium went into renovation two times since its establishment once in 1989-1991 and the other in 2011-2013, with the cost incurring about $ 200 million in 1991.
Considered the home court for St.Johns since 1969, the home team has a record of a 434-303 win-loss ratio with a 589 winning percentage.
6. Capital One Arena, Georgetown
Capital One Arena seating capacity is 20,356 and is ranked 6th in the NCAA stadium's list.
Located in Washington D.C., it serves as the home to several teams including Hoyas, Capitals, Wizards, and Valor games.
Besides other sports, Georgetown who participates in the Big East Conference tournament every year in NCAA D1 also considers it home and has been playing in this venue since 1997.
The arena's main attraction is the hugely built video scoreboard and video walls inside which attract many fans.
To date NCAA tournaments have been played here in the stadium in major numbers and also the ice hockey tournaments.
The arena hosted first and second-round games in 1998,2002,2008, and 2011 and also the regional finals in 2006,20131 and 2019.
The stadium was constructed on 2nd December 1997 with a whooping construction cost of $260 million. Monumental Sports and Entertainment owns this place as the owners.
5. Thompson-Boiling Arena, Tennessee
Thompson-Boiling Arena is home to the NCAA D1 basketball team Tennessee Vols. It has a capacity of 21,678.
The previous capacity of the stadium was 24,535 from its establishment till 2007 but later was deducted by 2,857 after the 2007 renovation. The venue was first opened on 3rd December 1987.
It mostly features the NCAA tournaments regarding basketball, women's basketball, and women's volleyball for the Tennesse side. The Vols are the sole tenants of this venue.
The record crowd for men's basketball was on 21st January 1989 in a game against Kentucky with a total of 25,610 fans. Following, the lady Vols also set their record of 24,653 in a thumping win over UConn on 7th January 2006.
The facility has also hosted the 1989 Southeastern Conference men's basketball tournament, the NCAA men's basketball tournaments in 1990, and the 1990 NCAA Women's Final Four.
During the 2006-07 season, the Vols men's team went 16-0 in their home arena followed by Bruce Pearl's record of 47-2 with 96% win percentage in 2008.
4. Dean Smith Center, North Carolina
Dean Smith Center has the capacity to hold 21,750 fans inside the venue. It was established in 1986.
The arena is located in Chapel Hills and has been home to North Carolina since 1986 as a solo tenant. The men's basketball team has been playing there since its opening while the women's basketball team has been playing since 2008.
The venue is also widely regarded as the loudest NCAA basketball arena with several coaches saying that they have never been to a building as loud as this building.
But the crowds tend to keep quiet in the games where their teams face defeat. The Dean Dome has also been known for the home-court advantage of the North Carolina team.
Till 2018-19, the team has won 405 games in the 33 seasons which is 476 games played against the 71 losses with a win record of 85.1%.
The Tar heel's team has gone undefeated in this venue in five of those 33 seasons they played and has not lost more than 3 games in a single season six times.
3. KFC Yum! Center, Louisville
KFC Yum! Center, the home of Louisville has over 22,090 fans capacity and ranked 3rd on the list.
The multipurpose sports arena from Louisville, Kentucky was named after the famous chain food brand KFC and Yum! Brands. This stadium is part of a $450 million project with a 975 parking structure and floodwall.
The multipurpose stadium has been home to the NCAA D1 team and college program Lousiville since its establishment with all the sporting programs hosted on the ground.
Among all the programs, the women's and men's basketball team has been the prime tenants of this place where the volleyball team plays their partial games.
The arena's current attendance record to date was on 9th March 2013, when they played against Notre Dame with 22,815 fans in the stadium.
2. Rupp Arena, Kentucky
Rupp Arena seating capacity is 23000 considered the second-largest arena in college basketball.
Rupp Arena's capacity stands at second in the rankings following its seating behind Carrier Dome.
The stadium from Lexington, Kentucky, US is famous after the legendary former Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp and was established initially with 20,500 capacity.
The Kentucky Wildcats basketball team has been the longest-serving tenant of this place since its establishment in 1976.
They have broken that attendance record 24 times winning 20 of them but losing 4 times till 2023.
Here is the last five attendance record of Rupp Arena mentioned below:
- 2nd January 2010 - Against Louisville, 24,480
- 5th December 2009 - Against North Carolina, 24,474
- 10th February 2007 - Against Florida, 24,465
- 4th February 2003 - Against Florida, 24,459
- 23rd December 1995 - Against Louisville, 24,340
Some of the NCAA games include 2013 Second and Third round games, 2007 First and Second games, 1985 NCAA Final Four and 2002 South Regionals Semi finals and Final.
1. Carrier Dome, Syracuse
Carrier Dome seating capacity is 34,616 and is considered the stadium with the highest capacity.
The JMA Wireless Dome also called the Carrier Dome till 2022 is a Syracuse-based stadium located on the campus of Syracuse University and is home to its football, basketball, and lacrosse teams.
The home court was established and was dedicated to the longtime head coach of the men's basketball team coach Jim Boeheim.
The men; 's basketball team has led the average attendance 16 times, holding the records for highest total arena attendance making NCAA records:
- Total home court attendance in a season - 537,949, 1990
- Highest Average Home Court Attendance in a season - 29,918, 1989
- Largest Court Single Game Attendance - 35642, Vs Duke, 2019
The 1981 Big East Conference men's basketball tournament was held in 1988 and the 1991 NCAA D1 Lacrosse Championships.
Basketball tournaments include East Regionals semi-finals and finals at JMA Wireless Dome seven times.
