Daskalakis Athletic Center (DAC) is a 300,000 square feet (28,000 m2) athletic and recreational facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[2]
Description and history
The facility is best known for its 2,509-seat multi-purpose arena that is home to multiple Drexel University Dragons sports teams including basketball and wrestling. While the entire recreation center, including the multi-purpose arena, gym, natatorium, rock climbing wall, and squash canter are located in the athletic center, the "DAC" generally refers solely to the multi-purpose arena.
When originally opened in 1975 as the Physical Education Center, sometimes just referred to as the "New Gym", the facility included grandstands that sat a capacity of 1,800, and was expandable to 2,700 seats with temporary bleachers.[3]
The athletic center was named for donor John Daskalakis in 2000.[4] Daskalakis, a telecommunications executive and 1963 alum, played lacrosse while at Drexel.[4] In January 2005, the basketball court was named Cozen Court after being dedicated to former Drexel men's basketball head coach Sam Cozen.[5]
At the 2006 convocation Drexel University president Constantine Papadakis announced a 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2), three-story addition to the existing Daskalakis Athletic Center. The project, which expanded to an 84,000-square-foot (7,800 m2) addition, broke ground in June 2008.[6] Construction finished in December 2009 and parts of the building opened to students in January 2010. The Drexel Recreational Center officially opened in February 2010.[7][8]
The DAC was built in 1974 as the Physical Education and Athletic Center (PEAC)[9] and was renamed in 2001 after a gift from former Drexel Lacrosse player John A. Daskalakis ('63).[10]
The annual Midnight Madness event was held in the arena before the basketball season begins. The event was similar to those at other universities, as it serves as a pep rally for the entire men's and women's basketball seasons. During the event, the lineups for the teams are announced, and the annual DAC Pack T-shirt design was also released. Since 2011, a concert was also held as a closing to the event. The 2013 event which featured Childish Gambino held an attendance of over 2,200. In 2014 the event was replaced with the Drexel Fall Fest.
The annual Spring Jam concert, which is organized by the Drexel CAB, is generally held during the spring semester. The Spring Jam was performed at the DAC in 2006 before it was relocated to the Drexel Armory in 2007. Previously, the annual event was held in other areas including the Drexel Academic Quad, and Buckley Green. In 2011, it was relocated again to Lot F, an open parking area on Drexel's campus between Main Building and 31st Street. The headlining acts of the Spring Jam concerts performed at the Daskalakis Athletic Center have included:
Over the span of multiple years, a staggered renovation took place in the main gym of the recreation center. The renovations took place during the basketball offseason each year (during Spring and Summer months) as to not interfere with the men's or women's basketball seasons.
2012
After a $3 million gift in support of Drexel athletics from John A. Daskalakis, renovations began in 2012 at the Daskalakis Athletic Center among other athletic facilities. The renovations completed in the first year of the upgrade were:
Major renovation to the home locker room
A Drexel athletics hall of fame display
2013
The renovated east side seating
In the Summer of 2013, more renovations continued in the main gym including:
A large portion of the bleachers located on the West side of the gym were replaced with cushioned chair-back seating. This included VIP chair-back seating in the first row.
A small number of additional bleacher seats was added in the Southwest corner
2014
In March 2014, more renovations totaling $7.7M were approved[20] and include:
Chair-back and VIP seating to replace the East bleachers, similar to the West bleacher renovation that occurred the previous offseason
New South bleacher, 28 rows in height and approximately 1,000 seats, to hold the DAC Pack and pep band. (Previously, the DAC Pack was primarily located at the East bleachers)
Several additional bathrooms, meeting space, a conference/reception area, and basket storage located in the Southwest corner behind the seating
New visitor locker room, located in the Northwest corner
The addition of floor 'pro-style' baskets was also investigated by the design team. Following their investigation, a decision was made to not implement the floor baskets because they found that the South bleachers would have to be moved back nine feet further from the basketball court, and also that floor baskets generally cause an obstructed view for any fans seated behind the basket. Because of this, the DAC will continue to use its swing-down style baskets.
2015
Phase 4 of the Daskalakis Athletic Center renovation, completed in October 2015 included:
New north-end seating, reducing the capacity to 2,509 from 2,532.
Improved concessions
2016
Phases 5 and 6 of the renovation began in May 2016 and were completed in September 2016. Phase 5 of the renovation involved additions to the basketball court level and includes the addition of bathrooms, offices, ticket booth, conference room, storage rooms, and an audio/visual room for television broadcasts. Phase 6 included installing an air conditioning system in the arena.
2022
On May 31, 2022, Drexel announced that construction was underway to add an LED video scoreboard, sound system, LED lighting, and an upgraded video production studio to the arena.[21]
