Dean E. Smith Center (Chapel Hill, North Carolina)

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300 Skipper Bowles Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
(919) 962-7777
goheels.com/

The Dean E. Smith Center is a multipurpose arena in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It is the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels men's basketball team. It was also the temporary home of the women's basketball team during renovations to the Carmichael Auditorium from 2008-2009. The arena opened on January 18, 1986 and replaced Carmichael Auditorium as the home of the men's basketball team. The construction cost was $33,800,000. It was designed by Corley Redfoot Zack, Inc. The arena is named after Dean Edwards Smith. It originally has a capacity of 21,444. The capacity was then increased to 21,572 and 21,750 in 2000. The Dean Smith Center was built to allow twice as many fans to attend Tar Heel basketball games than the Carmichael Auditorium could fit. The arena also held many concerts and is used by many of the graduate and professional schools for commencement ceremonies each year, as well as commencement ceremonies for all undergraduates receiving degrees in December of each year. It is also the graduation site for local high school each June.