Pete Mathews Coliseum (also known as "The Pete") is a 3,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Jacksonville, Alabama . It is home to the Jacksonville State University Gamecocks men's and women's basketball teams as well as the women's volleyball team. It also hosts the annual Calhoun County High School Basketball Tournament held each January, in which all high school basketball teams in Calhoun County, Alabama compete. The arena has been the annual host for this event since the early 1990s. Prior to that time, the event was held in different facilities around Calhoun County (most often at the Anniston High School auditorium). The venue opened in 1974 when the basketball team moved there from Stephenson Hall. In addition to the arena, the coliseum also houses an indoor swimming pool. Prior to the 2015 renovation, a concourse that was used as a jogging track circled the basketball court.
20-439: The facility also includes classroom areas for HPER instruction and also has a large storage area on the lowest level beneath the classroom/swimming pool area. The original seating capacity was 5,500 but due to several renovations since its construction has seen a slight decline in seating capacity to 5,300. Following renovations during the summer of 2015, the seating capacity declined to 3,500. Before that renovation, most of
40-414: A ball" has grown to encompass many events where person(s) are having fun, not just dancing. Ballrooms are generally quite large, and may have ceilings higher than other rooms in the same building. The large amount of space for dancing , as well as the highly formal tone of events have given rise to ballroom dancing . The largest balls are now nearly always held in public buildings, and many hotels have
60-497: A ballroom. They are also designed large to help the sound of orchestras carry well throughout the whole room. A special case is the annual Vienna Opera Ball , where, just for one night, the auditorium of the Vienna State Opera is turned into a large ballroom. On the eve of the event, the rows of seats are removed from the stalls , and a new floor, level with the stage , is built. Sometimes ballrooms have stages in
80-554: A good ballroom should have the right type of flooring , such as hardwood flooring or stone flooring (usually marble or stone). . For most styles of modern dance, a wooden sprung floor offers the best surface. In later times the term ballroom has been used to describe nightclubs where customers dance, the Top Rank Suites in the United Kingdom for example were also often referred to as ballrooms. The phrase "having
100-474: Is a legal requirement, however, as it is in movie theatres and on aircraft , the law reflects the fact that the number of people allowed in should not exceed the number who can be seated. Use of the term "public capacity" indicates that a venue is allowed to hold more people than it can actually seat. Again, the maximum total number of people can refer to either the physical space available or limitations set by law. Ballroom A ballroom or ballhall
120-402: Is a large room inside a building , the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls . Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces , especially historic mansions and palaces, contain one or more ballrooms. In other large houses, a large room such as the main drawing room , long gallery , or hall may double as a ballroom, but,
140-424: Is a primary concern in determining the seating capacity of a venue: "Seating capacity, seating layouts and densities are largely dictated by legal requirements for the safe evacuation of the occupants in the event of fire". The International Building Code specifies, "In places of assembly, the seats shall be securely fastened to the floor" but provides exceptions if the total number of seats is fewer than 100, if there
160-414: Is a substantial amount of space available between seats or if the seats are at tables. It also delineates the number of available exits for interior balconies and galleries based on the seating capacity, and sets forth the number of required wheelchair spaces in a table derived from the seating capacity of the space. The International Fire Code, portions of which have been adopted by many jurisdictions,
180-452: Is directed more towards the use of a facility than the construction. It specifies, "For areas having fixed seating without dividing arms, the occupant load shall not be less than the number of seats based on one person for each 18 inches (457 mm) of seating length". It also requires that every public venue submit a detailed site plan to the local fire code official, including "details of the means of egress, seating capacity, [and] arrangement of
200-604: Is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space , in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law . Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats hundreds of thousands of people. The largest sporting venue in the world, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway , has a permanent seating capacity for more than 235,000 people and infield seating that raises capacity to an approximate 400,000. Safety
220-524: The National Football League 's Super Bowl Committee decide on a venue for a particular event, seating capacity, which reflects the possible number of tickets that can be sold for the event, is an important consideration. Seating capacity differs from total capacity (sometimes called public capacity ), which describes the total number of people who can fit in a venue or in a vehicle either sitting or standing. Where seating capacity
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#1732791576102240-520: The AHSAA playoffs in each classification. The boys and girls winners go to Birmingham for the Final Four tournament. The arena is named for the late former Alabama state legislator Pete Mathews who also sat on the university's board of trustees. The original floor for the arena was synthetic rubber which was the popular flooring for basketball at the time. The arena was a multi-purpose facility when
260-426: The activities that had been held in the arena besides men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball to be relocated there. The university's baseball team formerly used the area behind the north side upper deck as a batting cage during winter workouts. A large parking area borders the northern entrances to the facility while limited parking exists on the other three sides. The university's tennis complex borders
280-496: The facility on the south side while an outdoor track, soccer and baseball facilities border it on the western side. Among some of the performers who have held concerts in the facility include the group Alabama, Billy Joel, and Jimmy Buffett. On March 19, 2018 , Pete Mathews Coliseum suffered extensive roof damage after a tornado went through the Jacksonville State campus. Seating capacity Seating capacity
300-436: The front of the room where the host or a special guest can speak. That stage can also be used for instrumentalists and musical performers. This list only includes ballrooms with permanent wood floors. The size of the floor only includes the largest contiguous area without obstructions. The websites and materials about some places add up multiple spaces, rooms, and balconies, and floors. However, this list ranks ballrooms based on
320-490: The kind of contract to be used and the royalties to be given. The seating capacity must also be disclosed to the copyright owner in seeking a license for the copyrighted work to be performed in that venue. Venues that may be leased for private functions such as ballrooms and auditoriums generally advertise their seating capacity. Seating capacity is also an important consideration in the construction and use of sports venues such as stadiums and arenas . When entities such as
340-474: The maximal viewing distance for a given size of screen", with image quality for closer viewers declining as the screen is expanded to accommodate more distant viewers. Seating capacity of venues also plays a role in what media they are able to provide and how they are able to provide it. In contracting to permit performers to use a theatre or other performing space, the "seating capacity of the performance facility must be disclosed". Seating capacity may influence
360-526: The seating was of the wooden bleacher variety (entire upper deck and end zone lower deck). The remaining seats were of red cloth seats with seat backs which were used primarily by season ticket holders. Those seats were replaced with plastic chair-back seating along both sides and permanent bleachers in both endzones. A new wooden floor was installed as well. The arena currently hosts the Northeast Regional basketball tournament (boys and girls) for
380-409: The seating...." Once safety considerations have been satisfied, determinations of seating capacity turn on the total size of the venue, and its purpose. For sports venues, the "decision on maximum seating capacity is determined by several factors. Chief among these are the primary sports program and the size of the market area". In motion picture venues, the "limit of seating capacity is determined by
400-401: The synthetic rubber floor was in place. Women's volleyball, men's and women's basketball, intramural sports, HPER classes, graduation ceremonies, as well as various concerts and other events were held in the facility. A wooden floor was installed in the early 1980s and the arena was reconfigured to be principally used for basketball. A renovation of the old Stephenson gymnasium allowed most of
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