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Dale F. Halton Arena / Barnhardt Student Activities Center (SAC) / Charlotte, N.C.

Dale F. Halton Arena is the centerpiece of the Barnhardt Student Activity Center (commonly known as "the SAC") on the University of North Carolina Charlotte (UNCC) campus. Hosting the 49ers men’s and women’s basketball teams, the volleyball team and a wide array of campus activities and other events, this is a bustling place most of the time.
Year Opened: Opened 1996, major training and academic addition completed in 2003
Capacity: 9,105
Owner: University of North Carolina Charlotte
Cost: $26 million (1996 – SAC and arena)
Web Site: sac.uncc.edu/arena
Phone: 704/687-4949 (box office)
Parking: Visitors can park in the nearby Cone Visitor Deck, $2 an hour charge. On weekends, visitors may also park in the West Parking Deck for no charge. For details check www.uncc.edu/parking.
Address/Directions: 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223. From Charlotte via I-77 take I-85 north to exit 45A for one mile on Harris Blvd. heading east; turn left onto Hwy. 49 for less than one mile and turn left into campus. With a large clock tower in front, Barnhardt Student Activities Center is located in the center of campus.

By Jim Robins

Dale F. Halton Arena is the centerpiece of the Barnhardt Student Activity Center (commonly known as "the SAC") on the University of North Carolina Charlotte (UNCC) campus. Hosting the 49ers men’s and women’s basketball teams, the volleyball team and a wide array of campus activities and other events, this is a bustling place most of the time.
T
he lively dynamics of this multiuse facility will likely change as the campus outgrows the current student center. A new $65-million student union now under construction is expected to open in fall 2009.

Charlotte is a fast-growing campus in the midst of a seven-year 30 percent growth spurt — reaching 25,000 students by 2010 with another 10,000 students projected by 2020. So, even though the current SAC is only 11 years old, the center of student activity will head further north on campus to accommodate the rapid growth. How the existing Barnhardt will change is not yet known, but it appears inevitable that some major renovations are on the way.

If you want to see how a basketball arena coexists with a very busy student center, you’ll probably want to check out the facility no later than during the 2008-09 school year. It’s likely that major work outside the arena will get underway fairly soon after the student center transition. The good news is the Halton Arena interior appears adequate to meet the campus’ needs at least for the next few years.

Multiuse arenas almost always require major compromises. In the instance of Halton Arena, the intrusion is kept to a minimum. In fact, the marriage of student center and basketball arena brings some impressive advantages. Obviously, bringing students together with the arena makes a stronger connection to the teams using the venue.

So, it isn’t surprising to learn that Charlotte student support for the basketball team has been very strong, ranking in the top 10 nationally at times. Not surprisingly, the 49ers have performed especially well at home in the decade-plus of hosting games on campus. Charlotte qualified for the NCAAs three-straight years immediately after the arena opened. Prior to Halton, the men’s basketball team played its home games off campus. It was a sad situation for a program that had produced the talented Cedric “Cornbread” Maxwell and an NCAA final four team in 1977.

The SAC gives you plenty of room to mill around before the game and at halftime as the arena empties on the south end into the student center commons area. You can pick from a wide array of food choices offered at four well-staffed concession stands just outside the arena. If you come hungry, full meal choices are plentiful. Barbecue is a North Carolina staple, and the SAC offers a nice platter with hush puppies and coleslaw for $7.50. Lighter fare includes a $3 cheeseburger and pizza for $4 a slice. Carmel corn, popcorn, nachos and ice cream are also available.

You’ll be comfortable in your seat at Halton – all have stadium-style chair backs. If you’re seated in the cozy lower bowl, you’re assured of a great view of the action. A three-lane indoor track separates the lower bowl and upper sections. While you wouldn’t be able to run the Drake Relays on this track, the feeling that you’re a little bit removed from the court action is unavoidable when you’re sitting in an upper section behind the basket. The sideline upper section seats between the baselines feel closer to the action.

Even if you’re seated some distance from the court, you’ll get drawn in by the high energy in Halton Arena. We attended a men’s basketball game against St. Louis and were impressed with the crowd’s enthusiasm en route to an easy 49ers victory. Halton is one of the brightest-tuned arenas around with crowd sounds reverberating constantly. The only downside to the brightness is a real problem with the clarity of the PA system. Perhaps the sound is easier to hear for quieter events such as university commencement exercises, but when the crowd is roaring it can be very difficult to discern the announcer.

From an athlete’s perspective, Halton Arena has a lot to offer. This has been especially so since 2003 when the 30,000 square foot Miltimore-Wallis Athletic Training and Academic Center was completed on the north end of Barnhardt. Along with extensive academic facilities for student-athletes, the combined space provides four auxiliary gym floors, two weight rooms, an aerobic center, a rock-climbing wall, game room and spacious locker rooms.

No wonder Barnhardt Student Activity Center and Halton Arena are the center of activity on this growing campus. Although a multipurpose facility inevitably will have downsides, we found the Halton Arena experience to be mostly favorable. Charlotte is a growing, energetic metropolitan area, and the feeling carries over to the college campus. It will be interesting to see how this venue changes after relocation of the student union is complete.

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