Arena-Auditorium

Arena-Auditorium
"Pimple on the Prairie", "Dome of Doom", "Double A"
	Interior view of the Arena-Auditorium, 2011
	Arena-Auditorium Location in Wyoming Arena-Auditorium Location in the United States
Location	1000 East University Avenue; Laramie, WY 82071
Coordinates	41°18′48.04″N 105°34′9.91″W / 41.3133444°N 105.5694194°W
Owner	University of Wyoming
Operator	University of Wyoming
Capacity	15,028 (1982-2014); 11,612 (2014-present)
Construction
Opened	February 20, 1982
Cost	$15 million
Architects	Arena Associates (Corbett Associates of Jackson & Dehnert, Richardson, & Bensman of Lander)
Tenant
	Wyoming Cowboys

Arena-Auditorium is a 11,612-seat multi-purpose arena in Laramie, Wyoming. The arena opened in 1982 and has since been the home of the University of Wyoming Cowboys basketball team, as well as home to the Cowgirls basketball team since 2003.^[1] It replaced the previous home of Cowboys basketball, War Memorial Fieldhouse.^{[citation needed]}

Nicknamed the "Pimple on the Prairie", "Dome of Doom", and the "Double A," the Arena-Auditorium is the highest NCAA Division I college basketball court in the nation, built at an elevation of 7,220 ft (2,201 m). The facility hosted the 1986 and 1991 Western Athletic Conference men's basketball tournaments.^[1] It also hosted the West Regional of the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Tournament.^[2] The largest crowd to watch a basketball game at the Arena-Auditorium was on March 2, 2002, when Wyoming played Utah in men's basketball. Wyoming won that game by a final score of 57–56 in front of 16,089 people.^[3]

In 2007 the Cowgirls hosted 5 Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) games at the Double A, plus the March 31 WNIT championship game in which Wyoming beat the Wisconsin Badgers 72–56.^[4] For the title game against Wisconsin, the women's basketball team sold out the Double A in less than 14 hours following their semi-final victory against Kansas State.^{[citation needed]} The 15,462 in attendance was largest crowd ever for a women's basketball game played at the University of Wyoming, as well as the second biggest crowd ever at the Double A^[5] and second biggest in WNIT tournament history.^[6]

Then-Senator Barack Obama spoke to a capacity crowd at the Double A on March 7, 2008. The speech was as a part of the future President's campaign to win the Wyoming Democratic Party caucus, which he did win the following day.

References

1 2 "Facilities". University of Wyoming Atletics. Archived from the original on August 6, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
↑ "UNI Nabs Four No. 1 Seeds for NCAA West Regional -". Northern Iowa Athletics. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
↑ "Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game #22". University of Utah Athletics. Archived from the original on July 31, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
↑ "Women's NIT Results". www.womensnit.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
↑ "Cowgirls are WNIT Champions!". University of Wyoming Athletics. Archived from the original on February 26, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
↑ "Women's NIT Information". www.womensnit.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2026.

[facil-1] 1 2 "Facilities". University of Wyoming Atletics. Archived from the original on August 6, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2026.

[uni-2] "UNI Nabs Four No. 1 Seeds for NCAA West Regional -". Northern Iowa Athletics. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2026.

[utah-3] "Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game #22". University of Utah Athletics. Archived from the original on July 31, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2026.

[wnit-4] "Women's NIT Results". www.womensnit.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2026.

[champs-5] "Cowgirls are WNIT Champions!". University of Wyoming Athletics. Archived from the original on February 26, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2026.

[nitatt-6] "Women's NIT Information". www.womensnit.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2026.

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v t e University of Wyoming
Located in: Laramie, Wyoming
Colleges	Law
Athletics	Baseball Basketball men women Football Soccer men Track and field
Facilities	American Heritage Center Arena-Auditorium Half Acre Gym Old Main Red Buttes Observatory War Memorial Fieldhouse War Memorial Stadium Wyoming Infrared Observatory Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site
Media	Owen Wister Review K231BW K278CM K298CH
Founded: 1886 Endowment: 455.1 million Students: 13,992

v t e Wyoming Cowboys basketball
Venues	Little Red Gym (1904–1924) Half Acre Gym (1924–1951) War Memorial Fieldhouse (1951–1982) Arena-Auditorium (1982–present)
Rivalries	Colorado State
Culture & lore	"Ragtime Cowboy Joe"
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26 2026–27
Helms and NCAA national championships in bold

v t e Wyoming Cowgirls basketball
Venues	War Memorial Fieldhouse (1973–1984) Multi-Purpose Gymnasium (1984–2003) Arena-Auditorium (2003–present)
Rivalries	Colorado State
Culture & lore	History
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26 2026–27

Construction
"Pimple on the Prairie", "Dome of Doom", "Double A"
Interior view of the Arena-Auditorium, 2011
Arena-Auditorium Location in Wyoming Show map of Wyoming Arena-Auditorium Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	1000 East University Avenue Laramie, WY 82071
Coordinates	41°18′48.04″N 105°34′9.91″W / 41.3133444°N 105.5694194°W / 41.3133444; -105.5694194
Owner	University of Wyoming
Operator	University of Wyoming
Capacity	15,028 (1982-2014) 11,612 (2014-present)
Opened	February 20, 1982
Cost	$15 million
Architects	Arena Associates (Corbett Associates of Jackson & Dehnert, Richardson, & Bensman of Lander)
Tenant
Wyoming Cowboys

See also

References