After a 20-month, privately-funded $87-million renovation, Fifth Third Arena reopens in 2018-19 as the latest marker in the continued growth of University of Cincinnati basketball.
One of the winningest programs in the nation which boasts some of the most iconic players in the game now calls this amazing on-campus facility home.
“Reopening the arena will be an emotional moment for many people who have put so much time into the basketball program – whether it’s Oscar Robertson or Kenyon Martin, Jack Twyman’s family who still live in Cincinnati – to see all the years of our success culminate into having maybe the best on-campus arena in the country,” UC head coach Mick Cronin said.
Improvements to the new-look, 12,012-seat, arena include two 360-degree concourses with court-centric seating, new club seats, loge boxes and premium suites. The Arena Club, Champions Club and the Mercedes-Benz Courtside Club provide entertainment options for fans. State-of-the-art videoboards and ribbon boards raise the gameday experience to a new level while increased points-of-sale for concessions feature food options from some of Cincinnati’s most famous restaurants.
New student-athlete amenities include new locker rooms, a film room, a hydrotherapy room and the Margaret K. Valentine Classroom creates more learning environments for the University.
What isn’t expected to change though is the thrilling environment on game day featuring loud and intimidating student sections along both baselines and passionate, determined play on the court.
During its history, the arena has welcomed more than 4.8 million fans and witnessed the Bearcats achieve a 385-79 home record (.830 win percentage) since the first men’s basketball game on Nov. 25, 1989.
Originally tabbed the Myrl H. Shoemaker Center, it was named after the former Ohio lieutenant governor who was instrumental in securing state funding for the building while he was chairman of the Ohio House Finance Appropriations Committee. Shoemaker died in 1985.
Affectionately known as “The Shoe,” the arena was renamed Fifth Third Arena at Myrl H. Shoemaker Center in 2004 in recognition of Fifth Third Bank’s support of the Varsity Village facilities enhancement project. Fifth Third Bank remains a valued long-term campus-wide partner on numerous initiatives.
In 2002, the floor was named Ed Jucker Court in honor of the head coach who led Cincinnati to its two national titles in 1961 and 1962.