Knapp Center
Construction
"The Knapp"


Location	2601 Forest Avenue Des Moines, Iowa 50311 U.S.
Coordinates	41°36′16″N 93°39′7″W / 41.60444°N 93.65194°W / 41.60444; -93.65194
Owner	Drake University
Operator	Drake University
Capacity	6,424 (2022–present) 7,152 (1992–2022)^[1]
Surface	Hardwood
Broke ground	1990
Opened	December 1, 1992
Construction cost	$12.5 million ($26.1 million in 2022 dollars^[2])
Architect	RDG Planning & Design
General contractor	Taylor Ball Construction Company
Tenants
Drake Bulldogs (NCAA DI) (1992–present)

The Knapp Center is a 6,424-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was built in 1992.

The Knapp Center is the center building for three athletic buildings combined. The Bell Center to the west is a general athletic building with offices, a pool, gym, and locker rooms. To the east is the Shivers' Basketball Practice facility, which opened in 2014. The Knapp Center itself also holds a weight room by the northwest corner of the basketball court.

The namesake of the arena comes from William Knapp, who is the chairman of Iowa Realty and a member of the Drake University Board of Trustees. He played a key role in financing the arena with a $3 million gift towards construction.^[3]

After receiving a donation from Hy-Vee, the court was named in honor Drake alum and former Hy-Vee CEO Ron Pearson as "Ron Pearson Court" on September 18, 2010.^[3]

Renovations in the summer of 2022 reconfigured the lower bowl of seating, reducing capacity but filling in corners and adding premium seating options.^[4]

Events

The arena is the home arena for Drake Men's and Women's Basketball and Drake Women's Volleyball. The first Drake Bulldogs basketball game was played on December 5, 1992.

During a Missouri Valley Conference record 47 straight conference win streak spanning from 2016 to 2019, the Drake Bulldogs women's basketball team recorded a conference record 22 straight home conference wins during the span. Both records are second in NCAA women's history to UConn Huskies women's basketball.

During the Drake Relays the arena hosts the Beautiful Bulldog Contest and serves as a media center for athlete interviews along with providing additional locker room and warm-up facilities for athletes.

Each May, in addition to Drake University commencement ceremonies the arena hosts numerous area high school graduation ceremonies.

The arena has also hosted media & campaign spin rooms during on-campus political debates and hosted various academic lectures, including lectures from Maya Angelou, Tim Gunn, as well as appearances by former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Donald Trump.

Gallery

Inside the Knapp Center
Inside the Knapp Center during the Iowa vs Drake game on December 18, 2010
The Knapp Center during a scrimmage following 2022 renovations
A 2022 preseason scrimmage

References

External links

Drake Bulldogs men's basketball

Drake Bulldogs men's basketball
Venues	The Shed (1907–1909) Alumni Gymnasium (1910–1919) Des Moines Coliseum (1920–1926) Drake Fieldhouse (1927–1957) Veterans Memorial Auditorium (1957–1992) Knapp Center (1992–present)
Rivalries	Northern Iowa
Culture & lore	Iowa "Big Four"
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 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
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

Drake University

Drake University
Located in: Des Moines, Iowa
Colleges	Pharmacy & Health Sciences Law School
Campus	Drake University Campus Historic District Drake Stadium Knapp Center The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement
Athletics	Drake Bulldogs Drake Relays Football Men's basketball Women's basketball Men's Soccer
People	President: Earl F. "Marty" Martin Provost: Sue Mattison Founder: George T. Carpenter Founder: Francis Marion Drake Notable alumni
Founded: March 1881 Students: 4,774 Endowment: $538.2 million

Basketball arenas in the Missouri Valley Conference

Curb Event Center (Belmont)
Carver Arena (Bradley, men's)
Renaissance Coliseum (Bradley, women's)
Knapp Center (Drake)
Ford Center (Evansville, men's)
Meeks Family Fieldhouse (Evansville, women's)
CEFCU Arena (Illinois State)
Hulman Center (Indiana State)
Great Southern Bank Arena (Missouri State)
CFSB Center (Murray State)
McLeod Center (Northern Iowa)
Banterra Center (Southern Illinois)
Credit Union 1 Arena (UIC)
Athletics–Recreation Center (Valparaiso)

Events

Gallery

See also

References

External links