Convocation Center (Eastern Michigan University)

Convocation Center
	The Convo
	290px
Location	799 North Hewitt Road; Ypsilanti, Michigan 48197
Owner	Eastern Michigan University
Operator	Eastern Michigan University
Capacity	8,824
Construction
Broke ground	1997
Opened	December 9, 1998
Construction cost	$29.6 million; ($43 million in 2024 dollars)
Architect	Rossetti Architects
General contractor	Barton Malow
Tenants
	Eastern Michigan Eagles

File:EMUConvoCenterOUTSIDE.jpg

Exterior 2008

File:EMU Convocation Center.JPG

Convocation Center inside 2010

The Eastern Michigan University Convocation Center is a multi-purpose arena, in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The facility is owned by Eastern Michigan University. The event has hosted concerts, graduation ceremonies and athletic events. The facility was built in 1997.

History

Construction began in the spring of 1997 and culminated with its grand opening, December 9, 1998, with a men's basketball game against the University of Michigan in front of a crowd of 7,647.^[2] Since its opening, it has served as home court for the Eagles' men's and women's basketball and volleyball teams. The EMU wrestling team has held several dual meets on the arena floor.^[2] It has also served as the site for two Mid-American Conference Championships. EMU hosted the 2000 MAC Gymnastics Championship and the 2002 MAC Wrestling Championship. It has been the host site for four first-round MAC Women's Basketball Tournament games, three first-round MAC Volleyball Tournament games and one first-round game for the men's basketball squad.

Along with their commitment to EMU Athletics, it has hosted concerts. It is also the site for EMU's spring and winter commencement ceremonies. Other events have included youth sporting competitions, high school commencements, trade shows, job fairs, conventions, charity and community awareness events and a circus.^[2]

Facilities

The 204,316-square-foot (18,981.6 m²) facility features three levels (arena, concourse, and office) and three seating configurations to maximize crowd capacity and space usage. The largest seating capacity is for center-stage entertainment activities, with 9,500 seats available. The capacity for basketball games is approximately 8,800.^[2]

EMU's athletic administration is located on the office level, along with offices for the EMU football, men's and women's basketball and volleyball coaching staffs. The EMU Sports Information Office, as well as offices for the staff, are located on the office level.

The main athletic training room and office space for EMU's sports medicine staff is located on the arena level as are strength and conditioning facilities and equipment rooms.

Athletic events

EMU Basketball

On March 18, 2014, Eastern Michigan received national attention when a CollegeInsider.com tournament game at the Convo – EMU's first men's basketball postseason game in 16 years – drew 373 fans. Senior forward Glenn Bryant tweeted his frustration at the small crowd, which was picked up by national media.^[3] Despite a 22-win season, EMU drew an average of 901 fans per home game in 2013–14 (10.2% of capacity). In 2014-15, EMU chalked up 21 wins and another postseason berth (at the College Basketball Invitational); however, attendance was even lower, just 776 per contest. (Eastern has never come close to selling out the Convo Center in its history; even the 1998 opener against Michigan featured over a thousand empty seats.)

2008 WNBA Finals

Due to the unavailability of The Palace of Auburn Hills, the Detroit Shock moved three WNBA playoff games to the Convo Center in the fall of 2008: two games in the Eastern Conference Finals and Game 3 of the 2008 WNBA Finals, against the San Antonio Silver Stars. The Shock won game 3 and the WNBA title, 76-60; the contest was broadcast nationally on ESPN.

Concerts

The facility has hosted performers such as The Killers, Jay-Z,^[4] Deadmau5,^[5] Kid Cudi,^[6] Jason Mraz,^[6] and Dave Chappelle.^[7]

References

↑ 1634 to 1699: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. 1700-1799: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. 1800–present: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

[inflation-US-1] 1634 to 1699: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. 1700-1799: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. 1800–present: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

[Convo_Center_History-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

[3] Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

[Jay-Z_Performs_at_EMU_convocation_center-4] Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

[Deadmu5_at_Eastern_Michigan_University-5] Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

[Kid_Cudi_Jason_Mraz_Perform_in_Ypsilanti-6] 6.0 ^6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

[Dave_Chappelle_At_EMU-7] Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

v t e Eastern Michigan University
Academics	College of Arts and Sciences College of Education College of Business College of Health and Human Services College of Technology Graduate School Honors College
Campus	EMU University sites University history Buildings On campus EMU Historic District Campus safety
Student life	EMU Student Center EMU housing WEMU WQBR Eastern Echo
Facilities	Building list Halle Library Olds-Robb Rec/IM McKenny Hall Pease Auditorium Brinkerhoff-Becker House Sherzer Observatory Convocation Center Rynearson Stadium Bowen Field House Oestrike Stadium Eagle Crest
Athletics	Eastern Michigan Eagles Athletic bands Swoop Football Men's basketball Women's basketball Baseball Men's cross country Wrestling Gymnastics Swimming and diving Track and field
People	EMU presidents Kim Schatzel Notable faculty and alumni Football coaches

v t e Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball
Venues	Bowen Field House (1955–1998) Convocation Center (1998–present)
Rivalries	In-state MAC schools
Culture & lore	Swoop
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1897–98 1898–99 1899–00 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16

v t e Basketball arenas of the Mid-American Conference
East Division	Rhodes Arena (Akron) Stroh Center (Bowling Green) Alumni Arena (Buffalo) Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (Kent State) Millett Hall (Miami) Convocation Center (Ohio)
West Division	Worthen Arena (Ball State) McGuirk Arena (Central Michigan) Convocation Center (Eastern Michigan) Convocation Center (Northern Illinois) Savage Arena (Toledo) University Arena (Western Michigan)

Convocation Center (Eastern Michigan University)

Contents

History

Facilities

Athletic events

EMU Basketball

2008 WNBA Finals

Concerts

References

External links

Navigation menu

Personal tools

Namespaces

Variants

Views

More

Search

Navigation

Tools