Tin Can (basketball arena)

The Tin Can
	The Tin Can in 1946; The Tin Can in 1946
Location	South Road, Chapel Hill, N.C., United States (demolished)
Owner	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Capacity	N/A
Field size	300 × 110 feet (91 × 34 m)
Construction
Broke ground	1921
Opened	1924
Closed	1938
Demolished	1977
Construction cost	$54,482.45
Architect	Bard-Knox Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., United States
Tenants
	North Carolina Tar Heels (NCAA) 1924-38

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Officially named the Indoor Athletic Center (or Court), the Tin Can was the home of North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball from the 1924 season until the team's relocation to the Woollen Gymnasium in 1938.^[4]^[5] It replaced Bynum Gymnasium, a venue known for its unusual running track suspended above the court.^[6]

Rudimentarily built of steel, attempts to heat the building during early season at first failed, with ice often forming inside:

The Tin Can was always freezing [...] they had icicles in the corners. To stay warm the electricians put those big-wattage bulbs under the benches, and we had blankets and wore heavy sweat clothes. Later on they did get central heat in there, but it was never adequate. You couldn't dress there.

— George Shephard, North Carolina coach 1931-35, University of North Carolina Basketball

The team, known as the White Phantoms, used this to their advantage, becoming one of the South's most successful programs by the mid-1920s.^[7]

As success continued into Southern Conference play in the 1930s, the capacity of the Tin Can proved insufficient to meet the increased interest in the team. North Carolina played the last of their games there at the end of the 1938 season, having officially moved to the adjacent Woollen Gymnasium on January 4, 1938.^[8] In fourteen years, the team had accumulated a 120–38 winning record.^[9]

No longer needed for major athletic events the Tin Can was used for a variety of purposes during the remainder of its life. Immediately after World War II, the arena housed returning veterans due to a shortage of dormitory space,^[10] while in the early 1950s it was used for storage of medical equipment before the completion of North Carolina Memorial Hospital.^[11] After hosting a limited number of indoor track meetings in preceding years, the Tin Can was finally demolished in 1977 to allow the construction of the present day Fetzer Gymnasium.^[12]

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 UNC EIS, Main incl. Stats.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 UNC EIS, Alias & Notes 1923–38
↑ UNC EIS, Alias & Notes 1921–29.
↑ Powell, pp. 16.
↑ Rappoport, pp. 17.
↑ Powell, pp. 15.
↑ Powell, pp. 17.
↑ Powell, pp. 29.
↑ Powell, pp. 24.
↑ UNC EIS, Alias & Notes 1944–48.
↑ UNC EIS, Alias & Notes 1949–52.
↑ UNC EIS, Alias & Notes 1952/77.

References

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[eismain-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 UNC EIS, Main incl. Stats.

[eis23-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 UNC EIS, Alias & Notes 1923–38

[3] UNC EIS, Alias & Notes 1921–29.

[4] Powell, pp. 16.

[5] Rappoport, pp. 17.

[6] Powell, pp. 15.

[7] Powell, pp. 17.

[8] Powell, pp. 29.

[9] Powell, pp. 24.

[10] UNC EIS, Alias & Notes 1944–48.

[11] UNC EIS, Alias & Notes 1949–52.

[12] UNC EIS, Alias & Notes 1952/77.

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v t e North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball
Venues	Bynum Gymnasium (1910–1923) Tin Can (1924–1938) Woollen Gymnasium (1938–1965) Carmichael Auditorium (1965–1986) Dean Smith Center (1986–present)
Rivalries	Duke (Carlyle Cup) Kentucky NC State Wake Forest
Culture & lore	Rameses The Marching Tar Heels Junior varsity team Inside Carolina Four corners offense Blue blood status Dixie Classic/Big Four Tobacco Road Scandal
People	Head coaches Honorees Honored players NBA draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics; NCAA championships in bolded italics

v t e Sports venues in the Research Triangle
Current	Boshamer Stadium (Chapel Hill) Cameron Indoor Stadium (Durham) Carter–Finley Stadium (Raleigh) Dean Smith Center (Chapel Hill) Doak Field (Raleigh) Dorton Arena (Raleigh) Durham Athletic Park (Durham) Durham Bulls Athletic Park (Durham) Durham County Stadium (Durham) Eddie Smith Field House (Chapel Hill) Fetzer Field (Chapel Hill) Five County Stadium (Zebulon) Henry Stadium (Chapel Hill) Jack Coombs Field (Durham) J. W. Isenhour Tennis Center (Raleigh) Kenan Memorial Stadium (Chapel Hill) Koskinen Stadium (Durham) McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (Durham) PNC Arena (Raleigh) O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium (Durham) Orange County Speedway (Little River Township) Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh) Wake County Speedway (Garner) WakeMed Soccer Park (Cary) Wallace Wade Stadium (Durham) WRAL Soccer Center (Raleigh)
Future	--
Defunct	Bynum Gymnasium (Converted, Chapel Hill) Occoneechee Speedway (In preservation, Hillsborough) Raleigh Speedway (Demolished, Raleigh) Riddick Stadium (Demolished, Raleigh) State Fairgrounds Speedway (Converted, Raleigh) Thompson Gym (Converted, Raleigh) Tin Can (Demolished, Chapel Hill)

Tin Can (basketball arena)

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References

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Construction
The Tin Can in 1946 The Tin Can in 1946
Location	South Road, Chapel Hill, N.C., United States (demolished) ^[1]
Owner	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ^[1]
Capacity	N/A
Field size	300 × 110 feet (91 × 34 m) ^[2]
Broke ground	1921 ^[1]
Opened	1924 ^[1]
Closed	1938 ^[2]
Demolished	1977 ^[1]
Construction cost	$54,482.45 ^[3]
Architect	Bard-Knox Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., United States ^[2]
Tenants
North Carolina Tar Heels (NCAA) 1924-38 ^[2]