Marquette University - Al McGuire Center

The Al McGuire Center is a state-of-the-art facility supporting the varsity basketball and volleyball programs at Marquette University. The Centers main feature is a 4,000-seat indoor arena with retractable seating, which is able to accommodate practice configurations, assembly events, and broadcast game events.

Fronting onto the prominent intersection of 12th and Wells Streets, the monumental brick piers and vaulted roof of the arena will provide the signature image of the facility. The 12th Street side of the arena concourse will also house exhibits devoted to the memory of Al McGuire, the famous Marquette mens basketball coach.

An attached 3-level administrative wing and enclosed practice court immediately to the south complement the arena. The first level of this facility is devoted to team support functions, such as strength training, sports medicine, and locker rooms for volleyball and basketball. The upper two levels feature athletic department administrative offices, coaches offices, and classrooms for tutoring and academic support.

Brick was chosen as the primary exterior material of the McGuire Center because of its rich colors and sense of permanence, and because it continues a long tradition of masonry architecture on the Marquette campus. The brick is a brown color accented with stone-like precise concrete and glass infills.

As one approaches the McGuire Center from the main campus to the west, the building has a strong visual connection with the Milwaukee skyline, and provides a new icon for Marquette athletics.