Low 13,000s.
The Fieldhouse
- Thread starter tm3308
- Start date
Low 13,000s.
IIRC the upper seats were huge pieces of corrugated steel, salvaged from the old football stadium which was the predecessor to Kinnick. No wooden planks, you sat on the horizontal part of the corrugation (along with the feet of the person the next row up).
Well, only because of the six rows of folding chairs around the court. Otherwise, the rest of the seating was farther back.
I know there's a lot of nostalgia for the Fieldhouse. But to me it looked like a rather crude, improvised facility. The stands opposite the Herky wall were temporary, made of screwed-together piping, sort of like the Kinnick south end zone was in the 60's & 70's.
And the damned posts, as mentioned elsewhere. I never went to a game there where I could see both baskets.
homes
Well-Known Member
I recall the restricted view seating - it was even stamped Restricted View right on the ticket. If you can find it (maybe at the library), my parents had a book from an IC cartoonist from the 50s who did a series of single panel cartoons, one where one student is calling the game for the other, who is seated directly behind one of those steel columns. Appropriate for those who recall not being able to see a part of the game. The place would get loud. I also remember the locker rooms were downstairs so the players would have to run through the crowd behind the seats and down the stairs to get to the lockers. It definitely wasn't built for big time college basketball of today, but it worked at the time.
Well, only because of the six rows of folding chairs around the court. Otherwise, the rest of the seating was farther back.
I know there's a lot of nostalgia for the Fieldhouse. But to me it looked like a rather crude, improvised facility. The stands opposite the Herky wall were temporary, made of screwed-together piping, sort of like the Kinnick south end zone was in the 60's & 70's.
And the damned posts, as mentioned elsewhere. I never went to a game there where I could see both baskets.
A lot of this is true. I still remember people paying good money for tickets behind a post. One thing the old Field House allowed was for the crowd to be right on top of the floor. This made it a real snake pit for opposing teams.
The game I remember there the most was recently noted as one of the best rivalry games of the early 80s by the BTN. It was vs MN. They had a top BT team that year. We didn't have their firepower but I think we still had the toughness of members of the final four team there. It went to 3 overtimes. This wouldn't have happened in today's game because of the clock. Iowa was really exhausted. Lute kept trying to stretch out the OTs into single possessions and win it in the end. The crowd was exhausted too. The first OT everyone was fired up. By the 3rd, I remember trying to lead a cheer and being told to shut up. MN won a squeaker basically as the last team standing.
UncleHawk
IowaHawk24
Well-Known Member
I always thought it was in the North Gym...if you can believe it
sioux34
Well-Known Member
I have not been in the Fieldhouse since about 1983, but the floor sat in the taller brick portion of the building, and the arched quanset hut side was the ROTC armory. I recall they had a tartan floor installed in the armory portion, and that is where most of the basketball camps took place during the Lute era.
the floor was situated in the far east end of the building. There was an walkway/aisleway behind the bleachers on that end of the building that lead to the entryway area of the Fieldhouse. There were training rooms situated along that walkway. Above those training rooms on the 2nd floor were class rooms, offices and the Intramural administration offices as well. I took Lute Olson's basketball coaches class taught by then assistance coach Jim Rosborough in one of those classrooms.
I saw a game in Feb 1982 at Field House for B10 title against Minnesota. Gophers were led by Kevin McHale and were absolutely huge. Hawks battled them possession for possession but the game slipped away. The fans were as loud and passionate as usual. I sat in press overhang, which was simply a narrow ledge with a table, crawling over knees to get there.
In Dec 1982 the Hawks closed out play at Field House. One of their last opponents was Marquette, led by great guard Doc Rivers (now Celtics coach). Why don't I remember who won?
One of my favorite places in the building were the large rooms on the second floor of south side, where you could hit golf balls or baseballs into nets for nothin'. Great escape from studying for class.
In Dec 1982 the Hawks closed out play at Field House. One of their last opponents was Marquette, led by great guard Doc Rivers (now Celtics coach). Why don't I remember who won?
One of my favorite places in the building were the large rooms on the second floor of south side, where you could hit golf balls or baseballs into nets for nothin'. Great escape from studying for class.
Thomzahawke
Well-Known Member
A couple of my memories of mine are (and I don't remember the years but I'm guessing late 70's) the first trip Johnny Orr made to Iowa City as the "new" coach of the Cyclones. Apparently he had made some sort of comment regarding playing in the Fieldhouse was no picnic. When the pa guy introduced Johnny the cheerleaders ran out on the court in front of the Cyclone bench and spread out a blanket with a picnic basket with all the trimmings. It was pretty funny.
I think my last visit there was in 80. That year Isiah Thomas came to IC with Indiana. I remember Isiah getting t'd up for trying to start some crap with Steve Krafcisin. I believe a couple of punches were thrown. Iowa went on to win that game too IIRC. Fun memories!!!
I think my last visit there was in 80. That year Isiah Thomas came to IC with Indiana. I remember Isiah getting t'd up for trying to start some crap with Steve Krafcisin. I believe a couple of punches were thrown. Iowa went on to win that game too IIRC. Fun memories!!!
Hey everybody, I'm writing a profile story on the Fieldhouse for a class assignment, and I'm just asking those of you who got to see some of the games in there to maybe offer a little insight into what the experience was like. What was the environment like? What are some memories that stick out above the rest? What about the building itself (temperature, seating, lighting, etc.)? Plus anything else that you can think of and would like to add.
I already have an interview with George Wine, and I'm trying to get one with Bob Brooks, so I should hopefully have quite a bit of material to work with. But I'd love to get some stuff from the fans' perspective. My deadline is 6:30 p.m. Thursday night, so I'd need stories/info probably by tomorrow night. If you don't care to share, that's perfectly fine. But I hope you will
The last game I saw there was when Brad Lohaus was a freshman. It was a pre-big ten game (maybe hawaii). I had a seat in the rafters with my dad. First Iowa game and my last one in the Fieldhouse. Last season there actually. I remember Lohaus going for a dunk late in the game (it was an Iowa blowout) and he missed it so bad on the back of the rim that the ball flew all the way back to half court in the air.