Commitment to Athletic Excellence

Mackey Arena

Mackey Arena is the home of the Purdue men’s and women’s basketball teams. Purdue Arena, as the facility was known for its first five years of existence, was built at a cost of $6 million. Dedicated on Dec. 2, 1967, the building was renamed in 1972 in honor of the late Athletics Director Guy ‘Red’ Mackey.

Purdue’s department of athletics recently has taken on numerous renovation and construction projects to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to the growth and development of the women’s basketball program.

Mackey Arena has undergone several improvements over the last several years, including the installation of new bleachers in August 2000. A generous gift from the John P. Holton family in summer 1997 helped Purdue refurbish the arena with a new playing surface and new basketball goals.

In the summer of 2004, a total of seven new video boards were installed throughout the arena.  In addition to the video boards, a new sound system was installed bringing the project total to over $2 million dollars.

Six 18-foot auxiliary scoreboards, located near the six concession areas along the concourse, were added in 1991-92. Advertising slots are located at both ends of the scoreboards, with two television monitors and a scoreboard in the center. The dozen 21-inch television monitors enable fans to watch the action and keep up with the score while in the concourse area.

In 1993 a band platform was constructed in order to relocate the band to the south stands. Prior to the 1994-95 campaign, the media area was moved from the lower arena to courtside along the west edge of the playing floor and to the upper arena on the same side. The shift resulted in 248 additional seats at midcourt in the lower arena.

Mackey Arena features 42 rows of seats, with a slight parabolic curve from the bottom row to the top. The ground and main floors contain 56,000 square feet of offices, equipment rooms and locker rooms. The playing floor sits 17 feet below grade level. The height from the arena floor to the aluminum dome roof is 97 feet.

On May 18, 2007, Purdue University's board of trustees voted to award a contract to HNTB Architecture for an $82 million project that extends from the outer edges of Mackey Arena north along Northwestern Avenue to Cherry Lane.  For more information on the project, follow this link:  http://purduesports.cstv.com/genrel/051807aar.html.