Universiade Pavilion
The Butterdome | |
Location | Main Campus |
---|---|
Owner | University of Alberta |
Capacity | 5,500 |
Opened | 1983 |
Tenants | |
Alberta Golden Bears/Alberta Pandas (U Sports) Edmonton Energy (IBL) (2009-11) |
The Universiade Pavilion, better known as the Butterdome, is a 5,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is home to the University of Alberta Golden Bears basketball team, as well as the Edmonton Energy of the International Basketball League. It was built for the 1983 Summer World University Games.
While the official name of the facility is the Universiade Pavilion, because of its rectangular shape and bright yellow exterior, locals quickly began referring to it as the Butterdome. Today, even the University of Alberta often uses this nickname to refer to this structure. [1]
The upper sections of the regular seating are permanently mounted, while the lower sections are collapsible to increase the space available on the floor. During the University Games, the capacity was increased to 11,000 using temporary bleachers.
Facilities at the Pavilion include:
- 6-lane rubberized 200m indoor track (10-lane 60m sprint straightaway)
- 4 basketball/volleyball/tennis courts
- 4 badminton courts
- Long jump and pole vault
- Wrestling room
The facility also hosts indoor soccer, flatball, and field hockey games.