The Frank C. Erwin Jr. Center (commonly known as Frank Erwin Center or UT Erwin Center and originally Special Events Center) is a multi-purpose arena located on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin in Austin, Texas. It is also sometimes referred to as "The Drum" or "The Superdrum", owing to its round, drum-like appearance from outside (not to be confused with Big Bertha, the large bass drum used by the University of Texas marching band).
The multi-purpose facility hosts entertainment events and was the home court for the Texas Longhorns men's and women'sbasketball programs until 2022, when it was replaced by the Moody Center. The Erwin Center is located at the southeastern corner of the UT central campus and is bounded on the east by Interstate 35.
History
Frank Erwin Center during a basketball game
Built to replace Gregory Gymnasium as the men's and women's basketball teams' home arena, the Special Events Center was completed in 1977 for a total cost of $34 million. The Texas men's basketball team opened the events center on November 29, 1977, with an 83–76 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners.[3] UT undertook extensive renovations of the facility from 2001 to 2003 at a cost of $55 million, adding, among other things, new and renovated seating, new video and sound systems, new lighting, and 28 suites.[4]
The building is named for former UT Board of Regents member Frank Erwin, who as a regent was very controversial due to his hostility towards the burgeoning on-campus, political counterculture movement of the late 1960s and was directly involved in the arrest of protesting students and the purging of what he deemed as "unpatriotic" faculty.[5] Originally known as the Special Events Center, the facility was renamed in 1980 to honor Erwin, who died that same year.
A two-level layout (the lower arena and upper mezzanine) accommodates up to 16,540 spectators for basketball games and up to 17,900 spectators for concerts. The inner ring of the arena averages around 20 rows deep, while the mezzanine is slightly deeper at around 24 rows. The size of the arena's inner ring is highly dependent on the event being hosted.
Replacement and demolition
The Frank Erwin Center being demolished.
In 2013, the Dell Medical Center, a $334 million teaching hospital for the university, identified the Erwin Center parking lot and the Waller Creek area directly across from the Center as being the site of Phase I of the Dell Center's construction, with the completion of following phases to require the demolition of the Erwin Center.[6]
In 2018, the University of Texas and the Oak View Group announced that they had agreed to build a new arena for the Texas Longhorns basketball programs, at a cost of $338 million; the new facility would fill the role that had been played by the Frank Erwin Center.[7][8] The new arena is the Moody Center, named after the Moody Foundation, which had donated $130 million to University of Texas athletic programs. A groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of Moody Arena was held on the UT campus, just south of Mike A. Myers Soccer Stadium, on December 3, 2019; the new arena was completed in 2022.[9] The Erwin Center hosted its last ticketed event on April 2, 2022; it was a basketball game which featured the Harlem Globetrotters. The newly completed Moody Center opened on April 20, 2022.[10][11] The final UT graduation ceremonies to take place at the Erwin Center were held on May 20–21, 2022; they were the Erwin Center's last scheduled events.[12]
A year after the closure of the Erwin Center, the UT System Board of Regents unveiled plans for the structure's demolition. The announcement was made on May 1, 2023, and the demolition process began during the following November. The Erwin Center will be dismantled in phases, to preserve nearby structures and to facilitate the recycling of materials. The work is planned to be complete by October 2024.[13]
Events
The Frank Erwin Center set up for a concert.
Located adjacent to downtown Austin, The Erwin Center was generally accepted to be Austin's current premier venue for large public and private events. The center held many events such as concerts, professional wrestling events, bull riding and private banquets.
The Erwin Center hosted the semifinals and finals of the University Interscholastic League boys' and girls' basketball playoffs in all five classifications until 2015, when the playoffs moved to San Antonio.
The arena also hosted both UT commencement ceremonies and various local high school graduations.[15]
