About Colonial Life Arena
Colonial Life Arena is the primary home to the University of South Carolina men’s and women’s basketball teams. Opened as a replacement for the Carolina Coliseum with the name Carolina Center in 2002, the 18,000-seat arena is also host to various events, including conferences, concerts, and graduation ceremonies. It is the largest arena in the state of South Carolina and the eighth largest campus college arena.
The arena first opened on November 22, 2002, with the season opener of the South Carolina women’s basketball team. A near sell-out crowd of 17,712 fans saw the 72–58 Gamecocks victory over in-state rival Clemson. The official grand opening took place on December 2, 2002 with the Gamecocks men’s basketball team defeating Temple 66–47. On January 26, 2010, South Carolina defeated #1 ranked and undefeated Kentucky 68–62 in the arena, one of the biggest wins in South Carolina history.
- 16,880 cubic yards of earth moved, which is enough to fill 222 swimming pools
- 3,848 tons of steel, which would weigh equal to 96,200 quarters, which would equal $24,050
- 125 miles of cable, which would stretch between Columbia and Folly Beach
- 1,872 tons of cooling, which would cool an average of 12 grocery stores
- 205,384 bricks and 60,137 concrete blocks, which would stretch the entire length of Lake Murray (41 miles)
- 8,750 gallons of paint, which would paint approximately 115 average Columbia 2-story houses
- 4,781 square yards of carpet, which would carpet approximately the field at Williams-Brice Stadium
- 443 people working on building the arena at a given time, which would staff 44 fast-food restaurants
- 1,158,000 man-hours to complete Colonial Life Arena, which would equal two working hours from each person living in the Columbia Metro area
Quick Facts
- Opened: November 21, 2002
- Seating Capacity: 18,000
- Project Cost: $64 Million
- Square Feet: 342,000
- Former Name: Carolina Center (2002–2003)
- Former Name: Colonial Center (2003–2008)
Arena Map
