Bud Walton Arena (also known locally as the Basketball Palace of Mid-America) is the home to the men's and women's basketball teams of the University of Arkansas, known as the Razorbacks. It is located on the campus of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and has a seating capacity of 19,368, which is the fifth largest for an on-campus arena in the United States.
The arena features Bud Walton Arena Razorback Sports Museum on the ground level, which houses a history of Razorback basketball, track and field, baseball, tennis and golf.
Construction The arena is named after James "Bud" Walton, co-founder of Walmart, who donated a large portion of the funds needed to build the arena. Walton purportedly gave $15 million, or around half of the construction cost. Construction of the arena took only 18 months, a short time considering the size of the undertaking.
When it was built, it was touted as a larger version of Barnhill Arena, the team's former home. In hopes of recreating the formidable home-court advantage the Razorbacks enjoyed at Barnhill, architect Rosser International built an arena that, as the company put it, had "more seats in less space than in any other facility of the same type anywhere in the world."
Early years The arena has been the home to the Razorbacks since November 1993; the men's team won the national championship in the arena's first season of operation. The basketball team's former home, Barnhill Arena was renovated into a volleyball-specific facility and now houses the Razorback volleyball and gymnastics teams, along with hosting high school graduations.
In its early years, Nolan Richardson's teams frequently attracted standing-room-only crowds of over 20,000.
Improvements Since its opening, there have been a number of enhancements and improvements to the arena. In 2004, a new custom scoreboard debuted, which is wide by tall, features four video screens, each wide by tall. (There is also a LED ring at the top that is used to display game statistics.) In 2005, the locker rooms were remodeled, and a lounge and meeting area were added. Prior to the 2008–09 season, eight luxury suites were added, raising the total to 47. In addition, courtside seating was added, the student section was reconfigured, and press seating was moved to the east side of the arena behind the basket. In 2008, LED ribbon boards were installed around the ring between the upper and lower decks. The addition of these improvements expanded seating to 19,368. Prior to the 2013-14 season, the press seating was moved to the southeast corner of the bottom bowl, with its prior location being used for an expanded student section.
Nolan Richardson Court On February 6, 2018, the University of Arkansas’s Associated Student Government Senate passed a resolution by Senator Clay Smith to encourage the University of Arkansas Athletic Department to name the court at the arena in honor of former Arkansas head coach Nolan Richardson.
On March 28, 2019, the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees voted unanimously to name the court in honor of former coach Richardson.
Statistics of Bud Walton Arena
Attendance Record: 20,344 vs. Duke, November 29, 2023
Attendance Chart (men) for every year Bud Walton Arena has been in operation
SeasonOverall RecordSEC RecordOverall AttendanceAverage AttendanceRank Nationally 1993–94 16–0 (1.000) (NCAA National Champions) 8–0 (1.000) 322,146 20,134 4th 1994–95 14–1 (.933) (NCAA Runner-Up) 7–1 (.875) 301,212 20,081 4th 1995–96 14–4 (.778) 6–2 (.750) 346,698 19,261 5th 1996–97 15–3 (.833) 6–2 (.750) 329,540 18,308 5th 1997–98 15–0 (1.000) 8–0 (1.000) 291,089 19,406 4th 1998–99 14–2 (.875) 6–2 (.750) 292,704 18,294 5th 1999–00 9–5 (.643) 5–3 (.625) 249,300 17,807 6th 2000–01 16–2 (.889) 7–1 (.875) 292,057 16,225 9th 2001–02 11–5 (.688) 5–3 (.625) 241,033 15,065 13th 2002–03 8–8 (.500) 3–5 (.375) 236,638 14,790 14th 2003–04 10–6 (.625) 4–4 (.500) 236,676 14,792 13th 2004–05 13–3 (.813) 5–3 (.625) 252,608 15,788 9th 2005–06 15–1 (.938) 7–1 (.875) 239,336 14,958 12th 2006–07 13–3 (.813) 5–3 (.625) 267,520 16,720 9th 2007–08 15–1 (.938) 7–1 (.875) 274,360 17,148 8th 2008–09 12–6 (.667) 2–6 (.250) 288,781 16,043 11th 2009–10 11–8 (.579) 5–3 (.625) 256,667 13,509 17th 2010–11 15–3 (.833) 5–3 (.625) 216,999 12,055 29th 2011–12 17–3 (.850) 5–3 (.625) 262,329 13,116 23rd 2012–13 17–1 (.944) 9–0 (1.000) 252,857 14,047 17th 2013–14 17–2 (.895) 7–2 (.778) 280,465 14,023 10th 2014–15 16–2 (.889) 7–2 (.778) 283,485 15,749 11th 2015–16 13–4 (.765) 6–3 (.667) 258,705 15,217 12th 2016–17 15–3 (.833) 6–3 (.667) xxx,xxx xx,xxx nth 2017–18 15–2 (.882) 7–2 (.778) xxx,xxx xx,xxx nth 2018–19 12–6 (.667) 5–4 (.555) xxx,xxx xx,xxx nth 2019–20 14–4 (.778) 5–4 (.555) xxx,xxx xx,xxx nth2020-21 16-1 (.941) 8-1 (.888) xxx,xxx xxx,xxx nth Totals 332–74 (.817) 143–54 (.726) 6,273,705 16,197 Avg. Rank: 11th
See also List of NCAA Division I basketball arenas
References
External links Bud Walton Arena - Arkansas Razorbacks Google Maps Satellite/Map of Bud Walton Arena Bud Walton Arena overview at LadyBacks.com (official site of Arkansas women's athletics) FayettevilleTourism.com information on Bud Walton Arena RateItAll.com Rating of Bud Walton Arena