| Frank Erwin Center | |
| Nickname: | The Drum |
| Logo Image: | Frank Erwin Center.png |
| Fullname: | Frank C. Erwin Jr. Special Events Center |
| Former Names: | Special Events Center (1977–1980) |
| Address: | 1701 Red River Street |
| Location: | Austin, Texas |
| Broke Ground: | August 1974 |
| Opened: | November 29, 1977 |
| Renovated: | 2001 |
| Expanded: | 2003 |
| Closed: | May 21, 2022 |
| Demolished: | November 2023 – May 19, 2024 |
| Owner: | University of Texas at Austin |
| Operator: | University of Texas at Austin |
| Surface: | Terrazzo floor/portable basketball floor/portable turf |
| Construction Cost: | $34 million (original) ($ in dollars) $55 million (renovations/expansion) |
| Architect: | Wilson, Crain & Anderson Heery International (renovations/expansion) |
| Structural Engineer: | Walter P Moore[1] |
| General Contractor: | H.A. Lott Inc. |
| Capacity: | 17,900 (center stage) (concert) 16,540 (basketball, 2013–present) 7,820 (theatre) |
| Record Attendance: | John Denver 17,829 |
| Tenants: | Texas Longhorns (NCAA) (1977–2022) Austin Wranglers (AFL/af2) (2004–2008) |
The Frank C. Erwin Jr. Center (originally Special Events Center) was a multi-purpose arena located on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin in Austin, Texas. It was also sometimes referred to as "The Drum" or "The Superdrum", owing to its round, drum-like appearance from outside (not to be confused with Big Bertha, the large bass drum used by the University of Texas marching band).
The multi-purpose facility hosted entertainment events and was the home court for the Texas Longhorns men's and women's basketball programs until 2022, when it was replaced by the Moody Center. The Erwin Center was located at the southeastern corner of the UT central campus and was bounded on the east by Interstate 35.
Built to replace Gregory Gymnasium as the men's and women's basketball teams' home arena, the Special Events Center was completed in 1977 for a total cost of $34 million. The Texas men's basketball team opened the events center on November 29, 1977, with an 83–76 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners.[2] UT undertook extensive renovations of the facility from 2001 to 2003 at a cost of $55 million, adding, among other things, new and renovated seating, new video and sound systems, new lighting, and 28 suites.[3]
The building was named for former UT Board of Regents member Frank Erwin, who as a regent was very controversial due to his hostility towards the burgeoning on-campus, political counterculture movement of the late 1960s and was directly involved in the arrest of protesting students and the purging of what he deemed as "unpatriotic" faculty.[4] Originally known as the Special Events Center, the facility was renamed in 1980 to honor Erwin, who died that same year.
A two-level layout (the lower arena and upper mezzanine) accommodated up to 16,540 spectators for basketball games and up to 17,900 spectators for concerts. The inner ring of the arena averaged around 20 rows deep, while the mezzanine is slightly deeper at around 24 rows. The size of the arena's inner ring was highly dependent on the event being hosted.
In 2013, the Dell Medical Center, a $334 million teaching hospital for the university, identified the Erwin Center parking lot and the Waller Creek area directly across from the Center as being the site of Phase I of the Dell Center's construction, with the completion of following phases to require the demolition of the Erwin Center.[5]
In 2018, the University of Texas and the Oak View Group announced that they had agreed to build a new arena for the Texas Longhorns basketball programs, at a cost of $338 million; the new facility would fill the role that had been played by the Frank Erwin Center.[6] [7] The new arena is the Moody Center, named after the Moody Foundation, which had donated $130 million to University of Texas athletic programs. A groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of Moody Arena was held on the UT campus, just south of Mike A. Myers Soccer Stadium, on December 3, 2019; the new arena was completed in 2022.[8] The Erwin Center hosted its last ticketed event on April 2, 2022; it was a basketball game which featured the Harlem Globetrotters. The newly completed Moody Center opened on April 20, 2022.[9] [10] The final UT graduation ceremonies to take place at the Erwin Center were held on May 20–21, 2022; they were the Erwin Center's last scheduled events.[11]
A year after the closure of the Erwin Center, the UT System Board of Regents unveiled plans for the structure's demolition. The announcement was made on May 1, 2023, and the demolition process began during the following November. The Erwin Center was dismantled in phases, to preserve nearby structures and to facilitate the recycling of materials. The last remaining building supports came down on May 19, 2024, officially marking the end of the Erwin Center with the land to be cleared out completely by September.[12]
Located adjacent to downtown Austin, The Erwin Center was generally accepted to be Austin's current premier venue for large public and private events. The center held many events such as concerts, professional wrestling events, bull riding and private banquets.
The arena has hosted three UFC mixed martial events: in 2010, in 2014, and in 2018. Legendary professional boxer Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico had his debut fight there, knocking out Jason Doucet in the first round of a boxing show headlined by a fight between Mexican Jesus Chavez and American Tom Johnson, contest won by Chavez by an eighth-round knockout on February 23, 2001.[13]
Music artists such as Taylor Swift, David Bowie, Tina Turner, Lana Del Rey, Ariana Grande, KISS, U2, Bon Jovi, Pearl Jam, Paul McCartney, Def Leppard, George Strait, Garth Brooks, Van Halen, Rush, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, Prince, Guns N' Roses, Rod Stewart, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Radiohead, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus and many others have performed at the arena.
The Erwin Center hosted the semifinals and finals of the University Interscholastic League boys' and girls' basketball playoffs in all five classifications until 2015, when the playoffs moved to San Antonio.
The arena also hosted both UT commencement ceremonies and various local high school graduations.[14]
| 1 | February 28, 2004 | Texas Tech | 16,837 (Sold out again on February 19, 2022, with a reduced capacity of 16,540 for the last several years) | |
| January 13, 2004 | Wake Forest | 16,837 | ||
| 3 | February 21, 2009 | Oklahoma | 16,755 | |
| January 24, 2009 | Texas A&M | 16,755 | ||
| December 4, 2008 | UCLA | 16,755 | ||
| February 18, 2008 | Texas A&M | 16,755 | ||
| February 11, 2008 | Kansas | 16,755 | ||
| January 26, 2008 | Texas Tech | 16,755 | ||
| January 19, 2008 | Colorado | 16,755 | ||
| February 28, 2007 | Texas A&M | 16,755 | ||
| February 25, 2006 | Kansas | 16,755 | ||
| January 14, 2006 | Villanova | 16,755 | ||
| January 17, 2005 | Oklahoma State | 16,755 | ||
| All games considered a sellout | ||||
| 1 | March 27, 1987 | Louisiana Tech* | 15,303 | |
| 2 | January 22, 1988 | Mississippi | 14,413 | |
| 3 | February 24, 1996 | Texas Tech | 14,115 | |
| 4 | February 25, 1995 | Texas Tech | 13,378 | |
| 5 | November 18, 1987 | Soviet National Team | 13,358 | |
| 6 | March 25, 1989 | Maryland # | 12,874 | |
| 7 | February 9, 1991 | Arkansas | 12,531 | |
| 8 | March 5, 2022 | Oklahoma State | 12,506 | |
| 9 | February 1, 2004 | Texas Tech | 12,474 | |
| 10 | March 24, 1990 | Louisiana Tech # | 12,390 | |
| 11 | January 22, 1994 | Texas Tech | 12,352 | |
| 12 | March 26, 1988 | Louisiana Tech # | 12,288 | |
| 13 | January 15, 2018 | Uconn | 11,877 | |
| 14 | February 21, 1989 | TCU | 11,769 | |
| 15 | February 9, 1994 | Texas A&M | 11,646 | |
| 16 | January 17, 1989 | Western Kentucky | 11,619 | |
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