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{{Short description|College basketball arena in Provo, Utah, United States}}
{{Infobox venue
| name = J. Willard Marriott Center
| nickname = 
| former_names = 
| image = Marriott Center 1.JPG
| image_size = 250
| caption = Marriott Center in 2006
| pushpin_map = USA#Utah
| pushpin_relief = 1
| pushpin_label = Provo
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in the [[United States]]##Location in [[Utah]]
| address = 701 East University Parkway
| location = [[Brigham Young University]]<br>[[Provo, Utah]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| coordinates = {{coord|40.254|N|111.649|W|display=it}}
| broke_ground = 
| opened = {{Start date and age|1971}}
| closed = 
| demolished = 
| publictransit = {{rint|uta}} [[Utah Valley Express|UVX]] (at BYU Stadium station)
| owner = Brigham Young University
| operator = 
| surface = 
| architect = 
| construction_cost = 
| seating_capacity = 22,700 (1971–2012)<br>20,951 (2012–2015)<br>18,987 (2015–2022)<br>17,978 (2022-present)
| tenants = [[BYU Cougars men's basketball|BYU men's basketball]]<br>[[BYU Cougars women's basketball|BYU women's basketball]]
}}

The '''Marriott Center''' is a multi-purpose [[arena]] in the [[western United States]], located on the campus of [[Brigham Young University]] (BYU) in [[Provo, Utah]]. It is home to the [[BYU Cougars]] [[BYU Cougars men's basketball|men's]] and [[BYU Cougars women's basketball|women's]] basketball teams. The seating capacity for basketball games at the Marriott Center is officially 17,978. It is the largest basketball arena in the [[Big 12 Conference]] and is among the largest on-campus basketball arenas in the nation.

In addition to basketball, the Marriott Center is used for weekly campus devotionals and forums.

The [[elevation]] of the court is approximately {{convert|4650|ft}} above [[sea level]].

==History==
The Marriott Center was named in honor of benefactor and hotel tycoon [[J. Willard Marriott]], founder of the [[Marriott Corporation]]. When the arena opened {{Time ago|1971}} in 1971, it passed the [[University of Minnesota]]'s [[Williams Arena]] as the largest college basketball arena in the nation. It was also the largest venue in the nation built for basketball, larger than any [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] (or [[American Basketball Association|ABA]]) arena at that time. It lost both distinctions when the [[University of Kentucky]] opened [[Rupp Arena]] in 1976 but remained as the largest basketball-specific facility on a U.S. college campus until 1987, when the [[University of Tennessee]] opened [[Thompson–Boling Arena]].

[[File:Marriott Center 1971.jpeg|thumb|left|The Marriott Center, circa 1971]]

Prior to 1971, the Cougars played basketball games at the [[Smith Fieldhouse]], which remains the primary venue for volleyball and gymnastics. The court was replaced in 2003 with a permanent floor.

The Marriott Center has hosted the West Regionals of the [[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament]] four times ([[1972 NCAA University Division basketball tournament|1972]], [[1977 NCAA Division I basketball tournament|1977]], [[1979 NCAA Division I basketball tournament|1979]], [[1982 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1982]]), and the [[Western Athletic Conference]] men's basketball tournament in 1988.

On February 7, 1993, Cody Judy threatened [[Howard W. Hunter]], [[President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church)|president of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles]] of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church), with a supposed bomb in front of a crowd of 15,000–17,000 onlookers in the Marriott Center.<ref>"California Man Threatens President Hunter, Fireside Audience With Fake Bomb" by Gail Sinnott and Carri P. Jenkins, ''BYU Magazine'', February 1993, pages 15–16</ref><ref name=":0">[http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/57824 Daily Universe covers fireside threat on Pres. Hunter] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100130093403/http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/57824 |date=2010-01-30 }}, by Alicia Barney, BYU ''Daily Universe'', 8 December 2005</ref>

A devotional gathering featuring [[Gordon B. Hinckley]], the LDS Church's [[President of the Church (LDS Church)|president]], on October 17, 1995, drew the largest crowd to ever attend an activity at the arena: 25,875 people.<ref>"Y Magazine: For the Record Books",[https://magazine.byu.edu/article/for-the-record-books/]</ref> 

In 1999, the Marriott Center set an NCAA record for highest attendance for a men's volleyball match: 14,156 volleyball enthusiasts watched BYU defeat [[Long Beach State]] on February 19, shattering the previous record of 10,225 (held by Hawaii).<ref name=":1">[http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/02/20/sports/story6.html Honolulu Star-Bulletin Sports: UH falls to BYU]</ref>

==Renovations==
[[File:Marriott Center-1.jpg|thumb|The Marriott Center in 2017]]

In April 2012, BYU announced renovations to the Marriott Center. The lower bench seating on the north side was replaced with prime chair seating. A new sound system was installed, and the men's and women's locker rooms were renovated. The changes in the lower seating lowered the Marriott Center’s capacity from 22,700 to 20,951.<ref>[http://universe.byu.edu/2012/04/13/byu-marriott-center-upgrades-seating/ BYU Marriott Center Upgrades Seating], by [[The Universe (student newspaper)|Digital Universe]] ''universe.byu.edu'', 13 April 2012</ref>

The remaining lower bench seating was replaced after the [[2014–15 BYU Cougars men's basketball team|2015]] season, lowering [[seating capacity]] to around 19,000.<ref>[http://universe.byu.edu/tag/marriott-center-renovations/ Marriott Center renovations], by ''[[The Universe (student newspaper)|Digital Universe]]'', 7 July 2015</ref> The new renovation also installed new video boards in the arena and added the Marriott Center Annex building, where practice sessions take place for both BYU's men's and women's basketball teams.<ref name=":1" /> The Marriott Center Annex was placed between the Marriott Center and the BYU Broadcasting Building.<ref name=":0" />

Seating was updated again in 2022, lowering the capacity to 17,978.<ref name="2022seatingUpdate">{{cite web |last1=Westerby |first1=Abigail |title=Marriott Center finalizes seating upgrades |url=https://universe.byu.edu/2022/11/08/marriott-center-finalizes-all-blue-seating/ |website=The Daily Universe |access-date=6 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207135150/https://universe.byu.edu/2022/11/08/marriott-center-finalizes-all-blue-seating/ |archive-date=7 December 2022 |date=8 November 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Basketball Facilities|url=http://byucougars.com/facilities/basketball|publisher=BYU Cougars|access-date=September 3, 2017|quote=BYU's 18,987-seat basketball arena is truly a hoop heaven.}}</ref>

The Marriott Center has the largest seating capacity of any basketball arena in the [[Big 12 Conference]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Roth |first1=Max |title=What BYU brings to the table for the Big 12 Conference |url=https://www.fox13now.com/sports/what-byu-brings-to-the-table-for-the-big-12-conference |website=FOX 13 News Utah (KSTU) |access-date=6 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812210855/https://www.fox13now.com/sports/what-byu-brings-to-the-table-for-the-big-12-conference |archive-date=12 August 2022 |language=en |date=10 September 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> As of October 2021, it had the eighth largest seating capacity of on-campus basketball arenas in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Harper |first1=Mitch |title=BYU Basketball: 50th Anniversary Logo For Marriott Center Unveiled |url=https://kslsports.com/469989/byu-basketball-marriott-center-50th-anniversary-logo/ |website=KSL Sports |access-date=6 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525234547/https://kslsports.com/469989/byu-basketball-marriott-center-50th-anniversary-logo/ |archive-date=25 May 2022 |date=12 October 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of NCAA Division I basketball arenas]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://byucougars.com/facilities/basketball Brigham Young University Athletics] – Marriott Center

{{Brigham Young University}}
{{BYU Cougars men's basketball navbox}}
{{BYU Cougars women's basketball navbox}}
{{Big 12 Conference basketball venue navbox}}
{{Utah NCAA Division I college basketball venue navbox}}
{{Provo, Utah}}
{{Subject bar|auto=y|d=y}}

[[Category:BYU Cougars basketball venues]]
[[Category:College basketball venues in the United States]]
[[Category:Sports venues in Utah]]
[[Category:Brigham Young University buildings]]
[[Category:Sports venues completed in 1971]]
[[Category:1971 establishments in Utah]]
[[Category:Indoor arenas in Utah]]