Fieldhouse. "It was not designed for basketball, it was designed for fine arts and theater."
The "House of Horrors" name originated from the floor at Hoch. It was too firm, and following games at Hoch, players were often unable to practice because of shin splints. But the Jayhawks thrived in their 29 years in the auditorium. They went an incredible 204-38, all with Allen.
Hoch seated only 3.800 people, with only up to one-third of the 9,000 students admitted at a time, which is why Allen suggested the construction of the new venue. When Allen made the proposal, committees were created to look for ways to make his dream a reality. One of the challenges was deciding what size the venue should be. But when the Depression hit in 1929, Allen's plans were put on hold until after World War II. On Oct.7, 1946, the Kansas Board of Regents suggested to Chancellor Deane Malott that he begin looking for a site for the fieldhouse.
In an article in The University Daily Kansan, Malott said that when Kansas did get a fieldhouse, "it should be a complete one, not just for basketball."
The fieldhouse was not just for basketball. It included a six-lane, 220-meter dirt track used for the men's and women's track teams, and the baseball and football teams held practices inside it. ROTC used it for inspection and drills. The University also used it for new-student enrollment and registration, for overflow offices and classrooms and as a backup for commencement ceremonies during inclement weather.
Frank Johnson, who worked in the state
architecture office, took the lead in designing the fieldhouse. He had designed Ahearn Field House at Kansas State just a few years prior. Johnson designed the new fieldhouse to look similar to the one at the University of Wisconsin, where Johnson had attended school. Johnson, after designing Ahearn, saw its flaws and wanted to improve on them with Kansas' new arena. He doubled the square footage, with wider concourses on two levels.
Allen insisted that the new fieldhouse hold more fans than Ahearn, which held 12,500. He initially suggested making the fieldhouse seat 20,000, but eventually it was negotiated down to 17,000. At that size the fieldhouse would be the second largest collegiate arena in the nation, behind the arena at the University of Minnesota, which held 18,250.
The state allotted $2.5 million for the fieldhouse, which translated to about 14 per square foot. Comparatively, opening in 2004, Mizzou Arena cost$ 75 million but seats about 1,000 fewer.
The creation of the fieldhouse began to take steps forward in the early 1950s. But the Korean War caused another setback, creating a moratorium on steel.
on every sheet," Corman said. "We had to go back through all those sheets and erase the ink." Because the fieldhouse would be contributing to the war effort, the project received the necessary permission.
A few members on the project were high-ranking officers in World War II and decided to go to Washington to attempt to get the authority to use steel, Corman said. The men decided to call it Fieldhouse and Armory, to clarify that the armed forces would also make use of the building.
"We changed all the drawings to call it Fieldhouse and Armory, and the name was
This was only half of the difficulty in getting steel for the fieldhouse. The other challenge was locating the steel. Many of the same men who went to Washington, as well as Athletics Director Dust Lomburg, visited
Allied Steel in Chicago.
Corman recalls that the meeting was not going well, and that Allied Steel was going to be unable to give them the steel. As the men were preparing to leave, the president of Allied Steel walked into the room and saw Lomburg.
"Ihe was quite an athlete at Northwestern University and had quite an athletic recognition throughout the country," Corman said about Lomburg.
Allen Fieldhouse at night, in 1957.
read, "Go Cats, Kill Snob Hill Again." The scoreboard was lowered at halftime and the banners were removed. Kansas State students were suspected for the prank, but no one was ever caught.
February 1, 1969 - Colorado 70, Kansas 80 JoJo White scored 30 points in his final game as a Jayhawk. The victory marked the 100th in Ted Owens' career.
February 3, 1969 - Oklahoma State 49,
Kansas 64 The victory marked the 1000th in
Kansas basketball history.
February 26, 1972 - Missouri 80, Kansas 93 Bud Stallworth's final game in Allen Fieldhouse was the first for his mother to see. Stallworth didn't disappoint, scoring 50 points. His point total set a Big Eight Individual-game scoring record and is the second most all-time at the fieldhouse. The game also marked the 20th anniversary celebration of the 1952 National Championship team.
January 28, 1978 - Kansas State 73,
Kansas 76 Lynette Woodard grabbed a
women's basketball-record 33 rebounds in
Allen Fieldhouse.
February 10, 1979 - Southwest Missouri State 54, Kansas 105 Lynette Woodward scored a women's record 49 points in the fieldhouse.
March 11, 1979 - Indiana State 86 Virginia Tech 69 Larry Bird led Indiana State passed Virginia Tech with 22 points and 13 rebounds in the Midwest Regional of the NCAA Tournament in Allen Fieldhouse.
January 7, 1981 - Stephen F. Austin 59,
Kansas 80 Lynette Woodard set the Association
for intercollegiate Athletics for Women
(AIAW) scoring record at the 18:37 mark of
the first half with her 3,206th point. She went
on to finish her career with 3,649 points.
January 16, 1982 - Oklahoma State 72
Kansas 77 Future coach Bill Self made his first trip to Allen Fieldhouse and added 14 points off the bench for the Cowboys.
25