Cameron Indoor Stadium is an indoor arena located on the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. The 9,314-seat facility is the primary indoor athletic venue for the Duke Blue Devils and serves as the home court for Duke men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball. It opened 77Â years ago in January 1940 and was known as Duke Indoor Stadium until 1972, when it was named for Eddie Cameron, who served at Duke as men's basketball coach from 1928 to 1942, football coach from 1942 to 1945, and athletic director from 1951 to 1972. The arena is located adjacent to its predecessor, Card Gymnasium, which opened in 1930.
History
The plans for the stadium were drawn up in 1935 by basketball coach Eddie Cameron. The stadium was designed by Julian Abele, who studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, France. The same architectural firm that built the Palestra was brought in to build the new stadium. The arena was dedicated on January 6, 1940, having cost $400,000. At the time, it was the largest gymnasium in the country south of the Palestra at the University of Pennsylvania. Originally called "Duke Indoor Stadium", it was renamed for Cameron on January 22, 1972. The first televised game took place on January 28, 1979 against Marquette, it was broadcast by NBC and won by Duke 69â€"64.
The building originally included seating for 8,800, though standing room was sufficient to ensure that 9,500 could fit in on a particularly busy day. Then, as now, Duke students were allocated a large number of the seats, including those in the lower sections directly alongside the court. Renovations in 1987â€"1988 removed the standing room areas, added an electronic scoreboard and display over center court, wood paneling, brass railings and student seats, bringing capacity to 9,314, though now there is sufficient standing to ensure a total of 10,000 could fit into Cameroon Indoor on a very busy day. For high profile games, students are known to pack in as many as 1,600 into the student sections, designed for a maximum of 1,100. Prior to the 2002â€"2003 basketball season, air conditioning units were installed in Cameron for the first time as a response to health and odor concerns for players and fans alike. Prior to the 2008â€"09 season, a new video scoreboard replaced the electronic board over center court. Before the 2009â€"10 season, additional changes were made, including installing LED ribbon boards to the front of the press table and painting the upper seats Duke blue.
Atmosphere
The students and fans are known as "Cameron Crazies" for their support of the team and loud cheering that has been recorded as high as 121.3 dB, which is louder than a power saw at 3 feet or a jackhammer.
For access to major games, including those against the University of North Carolina, students reside in tents for months in an area outside of Cameron known as "Krzyzewskiville". The hardwood floor was dedicated and renamed Coach K Court in November 2000.
Media coverage
Sports Illustrated ranked it fourth on its list of the top 20 sporting venues of the 20th century, and USA Today referred to it as "the toughest road game in the ACC."
Milestone games
 Sources: Statistics published by Duke University as of the end of the 2014 season 2014â€"2015 Duke Men's Basketball Media Guide;
Additionally, the facility hosted the Southern Conference men's basketball tournament from 1947 to 1950 and the MEAC Men's Basketball Tournament in 1972 and 1973.
Home court advantage
Records at Cameron Indoor Stadium
All-Time: 832â€"154 (.844)
Coach K: 474â€"59 (.889)
Since 1997-98: 266â€"17 (.940)
Duke is 179-12 (.937) at home since the 2004â€"05 season, second only to Allen Fieldhouse in winning percentage at home.
Non-conference win streaks
On November 30, 2016, the Duke men's team extended its non-conference home winning streak to 130 games with an 78â€"69 victory over the Michigan State Spartans. This streak is the longest active non-conference home winning streak in college basketball, with Duke's last non-conference home loss coming against St. John’s on February 26, 2000, when the then #2 Blue Devils lost 83â€"82. The 130 number is 89 more than the program currently with the second-best home non-con winning streak (Wichita State), which [as of 11/30/16] sits at 41 in a row.
The streak is the longest non-conference home win streak in Duke men's basketball history, breaking the previous record, which lasted 95 games, from February 2, 1983 â€" December 2, 1995, beginning with a 73â€"71 win over William & Mary and ending with a 65â€"75 loss to Illinois.
See also
- Carolinaâ€"Duke rivalry
- Dukeâ€"Maryland rivalry
- List of NCAA Division I basketball arenas
References
External links
- Cameron Indoor Stadium official page
- Cameron Indoor Stadium men's basketball statistics