Irving Gymnasium

Irving Gymnasium
Irving Gym during Deconstruction
Irving Gymnasium is located in Indiana
Irving Gymnasium
Location within Indiana
General information
TypePhysical fitness facility
LocationBall State University
Corner of Neely & McKinley Avenue
Muncie, IN 47306
Coordinates40°12′19″N 85°24′21″W / 40.20528°N 85.40583°W / 40.20528; -85.40583
Named forIrving Family (Irving Brothers Sand and Gravel)
Completed1962
Demolished2009
Design and construction
Architect(s)Walter Scholar & Associates
Lafayette, Indiana
Other information
Seating capacity4,200

Irving Gymnasium was an indoor athletics facility on the campus of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, USA. Opened in 1962 with a capacity of 6,600 spectators, it hosted primarily Ball State Cardinals basketball and volleyball games until Worthen Arena opened in 1992. It hosted the 1972 and 1976 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship games.

In 2008, Irving Gymnasium closed to undergo renovations for the new Student Recreation and Wellness Center. The Student Recreation and Wellness Center opened in 2010 and offers 5 basketball courts, an indoor turf building for indoor football and soccer, a rock climbing wall, an expanded weight lifting and cardio equipment space, an 1/8 suspended walking/jogging track, a Quiznos and space devoted to yoga and martial arts.[1][2]

Notable appearances

Presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy spoke in Irving Gymnasium on April 4, 1968, to a crowd of 12,000 people, almost three times the seating capacity. The university had only 7,000 seats to offer, which left 5,000 students to stand during Kennedy's half-hour speech. A little over an hour after his speech, on the way to another campaign stop in Indianapolis, Kennedy learned of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination.[3]

President Barack Obama made a stop in Irving Gymnasium on April 12, 2008, on his campaign trail, 40 years and one week after Kennedy's 1968 speech there.[4]

References

  1. ^ Student Recreation and Wellness Facility(Ball State University Website) Archived 2010-06-04 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved December 15, 2008.
  2. ^ "Ball State University Student Recreation and Wellness Center". Athletic Business. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  3. ^ "Robert Kennedy remembered?". Ball State Daily. April 4, 2008. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  4. ^ Presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama plans weekend campaign stop on campus (Ball State University Website) Archived 2011-06-13 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved December 15, 2008.

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