The North Texan, Volume 24, Number 4, December 1973 Page: 3

                                
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NTSU Coliseum,
Home of Basketball and Banquets
At a certain hilltop on the drive from Fort Worth
to Denton on Interstate Highway 35, the rusty red,
2.7 acre large NTSU Coliseum rooflooms hulking
to the horizon. And from a closer hilltop, the
dwarfed Men's Gymnasium comes in view,
apparently presided over by the protective arm
extended by the Coliseum.
Built to replace the outdated Men's Gym, the
Coliseum, completed in the spring of 1973, is of
course a basketball facility—and a theater and an
arena and a banquet hall and a location for
graduation exercises, convocations, class
registration, dances, trade shows and twirling camps.
Designed by the Dallas architectural firm of
Clutts and Parker Inc., the Coliseum premiered as
the 1973 site of the annual banquet held by the
Denton Chamber of Commerce and the stage for the
banquet's after-dinner speaker, Art Linkletter.
Since that time, the facility has hosted Denton High
School and NTSU commencements, summer and
fall registrations, the Homecoming Gala
performance and several games on the Mean Green's
1973-74 basketball schedule. The complex task of
keeping the Coliseum ready for these events falls
under the supervision of director Fred McCain.
The building, eight stories high from arena level
to the catwalk-crossed ceiling, contains seating for
9,885 in permanent, orange upholstered seats, plus
eight wheelchair positions. Matching arena seats
can be placed on the arena floor to accommodate
820 additional people. The press section contains
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The North Texan
December 1973
39 stations, each with outlets for telephone,
telegraph, intercom system and electricity.
Enhancing the luxuriousness of the Coliseum in
comparison to Men's Gym are four regulation
handball courts, a 6,000 square foot gymnastic area
complete with six-foot high mirrors for evaluation,
carpeted locker rooms for the Eagle teams, four
"star" or private dressing reoms, a carpeted
Lettermen's Lounge with wet bar and ample storage
and office space.
Theater in the round and proscenium stage settings
are made possible with portable stage equipment
which can be arranged in round, oval and rectangular
settings with runways. A portable basketball floor
is put down for athletic events.
Two complete speaker clusters are suspended
from the Coliseum ceiling, one in the center and
one at the end of the arena. Each is tied to a central
control panel, and the entire system can amplify 10
microphones at one time as well as programs on
record or tape.
And if that is not impressive enough, the building
contains about 200,500 sQuare feet, two separate
support structures and about 4 million pounds of
steel in the roof, which is supported by columns
standing completely apart from the walls of the
building. The roof is 355 feet across, providing
a full sized football field in each direction for the
Mean Green. However, that idea of using the roof
as a playing field has not yet been considered
seriously by the coaching staff.
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