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The Dean Dome: A Look Inside Carolina's Basketball Palace
1986-Present
The Dean Edwards Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina is one of the most elegant arenas anywhere, not to mention college basketball. It contains an amazing 21,444 seats, unprecidented in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and many other ameneties, such as elegant locker rooms and lounges. The awesome structure stands 140 feet from court to teflon ceiling, and contains many innovations within the arena itself, such as the spring-covered court. ( those springs are UNDER the court ) The rafters contain numerous banners honoring not only the great players of Carolina History, but also the great teams and their accomplishments. On opening day, September 6, 1986, Carolina rolled past top-ranked Duke in a thriller worth innaugurating this place.Construction began on August 1, 1982, only four months after Carolina's win in New Orleans for the National Championship. $30 million was donated by members of the Educational foundation to fund the arena.