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Sawyer Center
History
On February 18, 1999, Southern Nazarene University unveiled the finest small college athletic facility in America to a standing room only crowd of 5,000 as SNU hosted cross-town rival Oklahoma City in a double header of men’s and women’s basketball. The crowd was entertained to two Crimson Storm victories and since that inaugural night, the Sawyer Center has become one of the gems of small college athletic facilities in the country.
SNU’s Sawyer Center is named after former men’s basketball player Carl & Marcia Sawyer who generously donated the university’s first million dollar donation to help fund the multi-million dollar facility.The first official event in the Sawyer Center was the annual Excel auction, held on Thursday, February 11th, 1998.
The Sawyer Center seats 5,000 for basketball and is the home for SNU basketball and volleyball. The Sawyer Center also is home to Southern Nazarene University’s graduation ceremonies and host’s local high school sporting events.
The Sawyer Center has become a favorite location of local high school state tournaments and the NBA. Several professional teams have practiced in the Sawyer Center, including The Oklahoma City Thunder, The New Orleans Hornets, The Los Angeles Lakers and The Detroit Pistons with more planned in the future. When the New Orleans Hornets were displaced after Hurricane Katrina, the Sawyer Center became the temporary home of the team from 2005-07.
During The Big Twelve Basketball Tournament, the Sawyer Center is used as a practice gym for incoming teams and Sawyer hosts the annual Home School National Tournament. The Sawyer Center’s conference rooms are used by local businesses for staff meetings and the facility is also utilized for The Oklahoma State High School Tournament, Summer Academic and Sports Camp programs andUniversity Graduation Ceremonies. Select Physical Therapy is housed on the 3rd floor of the complex and has multiple patients entering daily.
In the fall of 2008, the Sawyer Center served as the home of the welcome home ceremonies for 2,600 troops of the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT). Families and friends of the soldiers saw their troops for the first time a year in the ceremonies held at Sawyer.
Directions
The Sawyer Center is located on NW 39th Expressway & Donald in Bethany on the east side of campus, just east of the main administration building, Bresee Hall and
Broadhurst Gymnasium.
Click here for directions to the Sawyer Center...
Sawyer Center
Facility Features
The 98,000 square foot facility began construction on July 11th, 1997 and was completed 79 weeks later. Inside the Sawyer Center on the second floor is the Storm Shelter room for athletic boosters, which features a floor to ceiling glass wall that overlooks the playing surface. There is also a luxury President’s box on the third floor that overlooks the playing surface.
The Sawyer Center houses the majority of SNU’s athletic staff and includes 16 offices and one conference room. On the third floor of the west side of the building the Sawyer Center is also home to Select Physical Therapy Corporation.
The Sawyer Center also features a 37 speaker state-of-the-art Bose sound system. The sound system is controlled through a state-of-the-art sound booth, which sits above floor level on the west side of the playing floor.
There are six locker rooms, two for varsity men’s and women’s basketball, one for volleyball and three for visiting opponents and officials. There are also two state-of-the-art training rooms that help to take care of SNU’s 370 plus athletes.
On the second floor of the facility is a mondo-synthetic track surrounding the second level of the Sawyer Center. It takes nine laps around the track to complete a mile. Also located on the second floor on the west side is a weight room that overlooks the SNU campus.
Other amenities inside include two concession stands, one on the first floor and one on the second floor and trophy cases for all of SNU’s 21 varsity sports.
All seats in the main arena are bleachers with the exception of the chair back seats for the Storm Chasers members. Members who purchase annual seats retain the privilege of sitting in this special reserved section.
On the north side of the Sawyer Center, the press tables house the home statistics crew, the Public Address announcer, clock keepers and several spaces for visiting Sports Information staffs.
The Sawyer Center also features a large scoreboard, which is suspended above mid-court and can be seen from all four angles of the gymnasium. There are also two smaller scoreboards on the corners of the east and west walls.
Quick Facts
Opened: February 18th, 1999
Capacity: 5,500
Ticket Prices
Basketball - $10 for adults, $5 for students
Volleyball - $10Â for adults, $5 for students
Inside Amenities:
• Six Locker Rooms
• Two Concession Stands
• Donor Room
• President’s Lounge
• 16 offices
• Athletic Training Facilites (Home and Visitor)
• Trophy Cases for all 17 sports
• Weight Room
• Indoor Track with Pole Vaulting pits
• Meeting and Conference Rooms
• Select Physical TherapyÂ
