Williams Arena Atmosphere is one of a kind

Right across the street from Mariucci Arena, Williams Arena is in a great location on the University of Minnesota Minneapolis campus. Frat boys can walk there, suburbanites can park in one of the many ramps around and bar-goers in Dinkytown might be inebriated enough to walk the half-mile to Williams Arena.

I was recently at Williams Arena for the Colorado State game, which the Gophers men’s basketball team dominated. But it was more than the score of the game and the predictable outcome. It was what the atmosphere of Williams Arena brought me back to, that is, my playing days in high school. Williams Arena is the cavernous Target Center. It is more cozy and friendly. It’s more like, you know, a barn. I scored the Golden Gophers men’s basketball tickets from my boss, and watching Tubby Smith and his old-school pressing tactics really flooded with me memories.

Not to mention the student section at Williams Arena was an absolute hoot. There were five people dressed up in full ape costumes making a spectacle out of themselves. “The Barn” is always filled with a raucous student section consequently titled “The Barnyard” if you didn’t know.