The Minnesota Gophers Basketball team will debut the New Williams Arena Floor on Thursday November 5th

For any of you Minnesota Gophers Basketball fans out there that are Twin Cities Locals, you have probably noticed that the University of Minnesota Minneapolis Campus has received quite the face lift this summer. With the completion and opening of the New TCF Bank Stadium it may have been easy to forget that Williams Arena got a huge makeover as well, including a BRAND NEW FLOOR!

But don't fret Gophers Fans, Williams Arena will maintain its uniqueness by remaining one of the very few arenas in the NCAA with a raised floor. For those of you new to Minnesota Golden Gopher Basketball at Williams Arena, the raised floor puts the wooden boards and the players about 2 feet above the players benches, first row seats and the officials tables. Only the players actually playing, officials and head coaches are allowed to stand on this raised surface.

Gophers fans will be able to get a glimpse of the new Williams Arena Floor for the first time officially on Thursday November 5th when the Minnesota Men's Gopher Basketball team takes on the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs

With the start of fall comes the promise of a New Minnesota Golden Gophers Basketball Season at Williams Arena

I know it has been some time since I've posted on this site, but I want to reassure you that since Fall officially began today, I will be back with regular posts to this site about Williams Arena, Minnesota Golden Gophers Basketball and general information about how to make your trip to Williams Arena the best it can be.

Williams Arena will say hello to 2009-2010 Minnesota Golden Gophers Basketball with an exhibition game against Minnesota Duluth on Thursday November 5th at 7:00 p.m. The regular season for Gopher Basketball starts on Friday November 13th at 7:00 p.m. against Tennessee Tech. With that said, I feel as if you should know that (hold onto your hats Gopher Basketball Fans) these games are only a mere 44 days away! Making it important to be buying your Minnesota Golden Gophers Tickets today before the games get any closer and the prices go up!

Williams Arena Basketball Players

Williams Arena hosted a lot of good basketball players this year and Gopher Grounds would like to give props to Minnesota Golden Gophers Men’s Basketball players Spencer Tollackson #50 and Dan Coleman #13.

Spencer Tollackson Gopher Basketball season stats: Tollackson played 20 minutes in the season opener against Army and finished with six points and seven rebounds. He tied a career high with four blocked shots and led the Gophers in scoring against Iowa State with 21 points, shooting 8-12 (.667) from the field. Tollackson made his first career three pointer at the end of the first half vs. Central Michigan. Spencer Tollackson turned an ankle early in the Big Ten Tournament first round contest with Northwestern and sadly missed the quarterfinal match up with Indiana. He played 14 minutes in the season finale against Maryland, scoring six points and grabbed three rebounds.

Dan Coleman Gopher Basketball season stats: Coleman led the Gophers with 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists vs. North Dakota State. He scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against Colorado State, the first 20 point, 10-rebound game for the Gopher since Vincent Grier’s 22 points, 12-rebound effort against Ohio State (1/19/05). Coleman scored a season-high 24 points and grabbed five rebounds against South Dakota State, the first back-to-back 20-point games by a Gopher since Lawrence McKenzie did so on 2/18 & 2/21/07. Dan Coleman sealed the opening round win in the Big Ten Tournament with key free throws down the stretch. He finished with 16 points and six rebounds.

Williams Arena Seating Chart

The Williams Arena seating chart can be tricky. I personally think the seating chart makes the arena look larger than it actually is. Sitting in the 200 sections can make you feel far away from the action, but there are still plenty of good seats to choose from. When you look at a layout of Williams Arena, you may be wondering which one of these sections is the right section to sit in and then what row do you want to sit in. Some people prefer to be on the corner. But if you prefer to be in the best seats in the house, the center court sections are are 106 or 116, but sections 105-107 or 115 -117 also offer superb court views. I personally prefer to sit in section 105, rows 15-20. Best seats in the house!



One of the things you can't tell about Williams Arena from the seating chart is that it has a unique raised floor. The Williams Arena court is raised above the ground about 2 feet so that the players’ benches, officials’ tables, etc. are actually below the court. The fans in the first row, looking at the players, are at about knee-level so take that into consideration when visiting Williams Arena. Also, sections 109-113 are predominately students so take that into consideration when selecting tickets on line.

Williams Arena Parking

Williams Arena parking is usually pretty easy. There is adequate parking located around the arena in the form of parking ramps, surface lots, and street parking. In fact, the University Avenue ramp is located directly across the street from Williams Arena. I have parked there before and it was really easy to get into and getting out wasn't too much of a headache. There was an officer directing traffic after the game so that helped ease congestion around the arena. Parking facilities around the area for the general public include the University Avenue Ramp and the 4th Street Ramp. Both of these ramps are very close to each other and close to Williams Arena so parking isn't a concern for Golden Gopher fans!

Williams Arena Tickets

Williams Arena Tickets can be both easy and hard to come by, it depends on how the Gopher Basketball team is performing. Traditionally, the face value of Williams Arena tickets are going to range from $30 to about $45. However, top Gopher basketball Big Ten games often sell out and if you want to sit at center court, you have to buy from local ticket brokers. When buying from Minnesota ticket brokers, expect to pay between $75 to $199 per gopher basketball ticket. The broker price fluctuates depending on the ticket demand which is influenced by: #1. how well the Gopher team is doing #2. the day of the week the game is on, weekends are pricey and #3. if the opposing team is a rival and/or in close enough proximity to bring in own fans.

Williams Arena is a great place to see a basketball game and even if tickets get expensive, the price of admission is worth the show especially with Tubby Smith as coach of the team. If Williams Arena is "The Barn" does that make Tubby the farmer? Buy tickets and find out!

Williams Arena History

Williams Arena is home to the University of Minnesota Gopher basketball. Williams Arena has a long and interesting history. If you want to read about Williams Arena, there is a good page on www.gopherbastketballtickets.com My favorite Williams Arena facts include: Williams Arena was first known from 1928 to 1950 as the Minnesota Field House. In the 1950’s the arena was renovated and renamed Williams Arena after Dr. Henry L. Williams, Gopher Football coach from 1900 to 1921. Williams Arena also has and still is affectionately referred to as “The Barn.”