The Stephen C. O'Connell Center, also known as the O'Dome, is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena located on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida. The facility is named for the sixth president of the university, Stephen C. O'Connell, who served from 1967 to 1973. The facility is located on the northern side of the university's campus, between its football field, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field, and the James W. "Bill" Heavener Complex athletic training center.
The entire facility was known as the O'Connell Center from 1980 until 2016. The building underwent a major $64.5 million renovation / reconstruction during that year, and Exactech, a Gainesville medical firm, signed a $5.9 million, 10-year naming rights deal for the main arena, which was officially renamed the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Florida Gators home arena[]
The Exactech Arena, which is owned by the University of Florida, is the home arena of several of the university's Florida Gators intercollegiate sports teams, including the men's and women's college basketball, gymnastics, swimming and diving, and volleyball teams. The facility was quickly dubbed the "O'Dome" by students, a nickname that is still in use. ESPN The Magazine nicknamed it the "House of Horrors" in 1999, a name that the sports teams began using promotionally a few years later. The student section of the stadium has been dubbed the "Rowdy Reptiles". ESPN commentator Dick Vitale, on assignment at the Florida-Kentucky game in 2006, said that the Rowdy Reptiles make the O'Dome one of the toughest places to play in college basketball.
On December 23, 2006, a then-record crowd of 12,621 watched the fifth-ranked Gators defeat the third-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, 86–60. The two teams would meet again that season for the National Championship game, with the Gators, once again, emerging victorious as the first back-to-back National Champions since Duke in the early 1990s. This attendance record was broken, however, on February 5, 2011, in a 70–68 Gator victory over the 11th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats, as 12,633 attended the game. Following the 2016 renovation, on February 19, 2022, the Gators defeated the 2nd-ranked Auburn Tigers in front of a crowd of 11,255, which currently stands as the largest attendance in the arena post-renovation.
Other uses[]
In addition to sports, the O'Connell Center regularly hosts many other events on campus. It is the largest concert venue in North Central Florida and has been the venue for a wide variety of performances, included a 2006 show by Gainesville native Tom Petty that aired on PBS's Soundstage TV series. Tom Petty's first ever show at the O'Connell Center was the year after it opened on October 7, 1981. Other events held at the facility include University of Florida graduation ceremonies, trade shows, career fairs, political rallies, public speeches, and various large banquets and private events.