Butler Bowl and Butler Fieldhouse

Description: Work is underway in the southeastern section of the Butler Bowl (later renamed the Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl). Cars and trucks are parked at the top of the stadium and the Butler Fieldhouse (later renamed Hinkle Fieldhouse) is on the western side of the stadium. In the spring of 1927, the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) offered Butler University the opportunity to host the boys basketball tournament in March 1928, if the University could provide a fieldhouse with room for 13,000 spectators. As part of the agreement, IHSAA would pay to rent the facility, while the University would provide lights, heat, janitorial services, and dressing rooms for the tournament. As originally presented, the agreement would last for ten years, with an option for renewal, and the University would retain any profits from concession sales. In order to capitalize on the agreement, 41 men, many of them members of the Universitys board of directors, founded a corporation called the Butler University School of Physical Education and Athletics, which sold stock in order to finance the construction of the Butler Fieldhouse and the Butler Bowl. The Fieldhouse was completed first in order to be ready for the high school basketball championships in March of 1928. When the Fieldhouse first opened, it had seating for 15,000 fans and the Butler Bowl had seating for approximately 35,000 people. Except for a few years during World War II, the agreement between Butler University and IHSAA continued through 1971. The first Butler basketball game played inside Butler Fieldhouse was on March 7, 1928, and the first football game was played in the Butler Bowl on October 13, 1928.
Source: http://palni.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/BldgsGrnds/id/991
Collection: Butler University Buildings and Grounds Collection
Rights: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
Copyright: In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Geography: Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, 39.844369, -86.165332
39.844369
-86.165332
Subjects: Construction projects
Sports facilities
Field houses
Gymnasiums
Basketball arenas
Chimneys
Football stadiums
Trees
Butler University--Buildings, structures, etc.
Butler University--History
Indianapolis (Ind.)--History
Hinkle Fieldhouse
Butler Fieldhouse
Butler Bowl
Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl
Goalposts
Bleachers
Football fields
Fairview campus

Further information on this record can be found at its source.