Stegeman Coliseum 5.13

Stegeman Coliseum is a 10,523-seat multi-purpose arena in Athens, Georgia, United States. The arena opened in 1964. It is home to the University of Georgia Bulldogs basketball and gymnastics teams. It was also the venue of the rhythmic gymnastics and preliminary indoor volleyball matches during the 1996 Summer Olympics, as well as the 1989, 1995, and 2008 NCAA gymnastics championships. It replaced Woodruff Hall, a 3,000-seat field house built in 1923.DesignThe ceiling is barrel-shaped, with the Sanford Drive side being curved as well. The resulting inside seating is in a "U" shape, with the flat end, which includes the scoreboard, not having the upper levels of seating. The Sanford Drive side was decorated with the Olympic insignia and other markings for the 1996 Olympics. Also, the roof is a separate structure from the coliseum itself, and is connected by an aluminum bellows which allows the roof to rise and fall with the temperature. The roof has four outward supports in an arc style, which were often used in fraternity initiations until gated off.The former Georgia Coliseum received its current name on March 2, 1996, in honor of Herman Stegeman, a longtime basketball coach at UGA who was a pioneer in the development of the original Southern Conference basketball tournament in 1921.