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Built at a cost of $4 million, University Hall opened in 1965 to widespread acclaim. It was lauded as "sparkling," "an indoor palace," a "huge cathedral." Photos appeared in newspapers as far away as Great Britain, and accounts hailed its innovative circular shape that allowed more paying customers per cubic foot without intrusive interior support columns.
The home of Cavalier basketball, U-Hall was also intended to be a venue for movies, concerts and traveling theatrical troupes. Though the first basketball game played resulted in a 99-73 loss to an Adolph Rupp-coached Kentucky team, its first public event was a concert by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra on Nov. 3, 1965. The concert featured the debut of a fiberglass-and-asbestos band shell described as "an enormous instrument as carefully tuned as the first violin."
Alas, a Cavalier Daily concert review observed, "After the orchestra had played only a few bars, certain criticisms became apparent; the sound of a 100-piece orchestra could not adequately fill the entire hall and the particular tonal qualities of each orchestra section were either exaggerated or stifled"—the first of many laments about U-Hall’s shortcomings.
The days of public activity in the 8,500-seat U-Hall are dwindling to a precious few. Across Massie Road, the 15,000-seat, $130 million John Paul Jones Arena nears completion, set to open this summer. In time, the impressive new arena will create its own memories. But for 40 years, University Hall was home court to a lot of people—an underappreciated home, for sure, but a happy one.
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