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Ferrell Center & Whetsel Practice Facility
Opened: 1988 Largest Crowd: Events Hosted: The Ferrell Center, home to Baylor's basketball and volleyball programs for almost 20 years, continues to undergo upgrades to maintain its standard as one of the region's finest facilities. The improvements have given the Bears the type of arena necessary to compete in the Big 12 Conference.
The most recent upgrade to the Ferrell Center is the construction of the Lt. Jack Whetsel Jr. Practice Facility. The 42,990 square foot addition includes the Hawkins practice courts, the Getterman Office Suites for the coaching staffs, and Gray's Gym, named by R.T. Gray in memory of his son, R.B. Gray. Other improvements include the Hall of Honor entry plaza and the Stone Reception Room VIP area. The $8 million Whetsel Practice Facility was dedicated on September 8, 2006. Previous upgrades to the Ferrell Center have included: new state-of-the-art locker rooms in 2004; a new hardwood maple playing surface in 2002; and the addition of six new scoreboards and two new 8x10 video replay screens in 2002. Built in 1988 at a cost of $12.5 million, the gold-domed Ferrell Center is located on a 14-acre tract on the corner of University Parks Drive and Texas Highway 6 (LaSalle Avenue). Capacity for sporting events is 10,284, while conventions, concerts, graduation exercises and convocations can seat 12,000. The Ferrell Center is named in memory of Charles Robert Ferrell, who died in 1967 during his sophomore year at Baylor. The basketball playing court is named in honor of Paul J. Meyer, Sr., of Waco. A major portion of the construction cost was provided by the estate of the late Mr. and Mrs. Monroe Ferrell of Houston, in memory of their son Charles Robert Ferrell. Monroe Ferrell, a 1938 graduate of Baylor, operated a concrete pipe business in Houston until his death in December 1981, seven years after the death of his wife. Other significant contributions came from Paul J. Meyer, Sr., Emil H. Meyerhoff and the late J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation of Tulsa, Okla. Meyer is founder and chairman of the board of Success Motivation International, Inc., and of the Eureka Corporation. The Meyerhoff estate, through the auspices of executor Bill Patterson of McAllen, provided the University with a large gift.
Groundbreaking for the Ferrell Center was held July 1, 1987, and a women's basketball game between BU and Southwest Texas State on Nov. 25, 1988, was the first sporting event held. The first men's basketball game was Nov. 29, 1988, a loss to San Diego State. The height of the facility is 111 feet, and the dome covers three acres and weighs 175 tons. Lighting capacity on the floor is 150-foot candles. The arena is designed with 42-tiered levels of seats, including nine rows of retractable seats at courtside. Banquet accommodations can be arranged for 1,000 people on the main floor. The lower level of the building houses some of the finest basketball locker rooms in the country. Customized wooden cabinet lockers have been built for both the men's and women's locker rooms. Also, on the lower level are visiting team locker rooms, coaches' and officials dressing rooms, a warming kitchen, press room, interview room and general storage. The Ferrell Center has been the site of Dallas Mavericks exhibition games, and the facility has also hosted the Mavericks' and Phoenix Suns' training camps. Former President Ronald Reagan spoke to a Republican political rally in the first event held under the golden dome in 1988.
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