Hinkle Fieldhouse

Hinkle Fieldhouse is a basketball arena at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. The steel-frame structure with brick exterior encloses a playing court with wooden seating for 9,100 spectators beneath a vaulted roof with skylights.

The facility opened in 1928 as Butler Fieldhouse and ranked among the largest basketball arenas in the country. During World War II it served as military barracks for Navy and Air Corps recruits in training.

The name honors Tony Hinkle, who shaped college athletics in Indiana through five decades of coaching and leadership at the university. Today the court still carries the spirit of Indiana high school basketball tradition that the film Hoosiers captured on screen here.

The building sits on the university campus and stands within walking distance from public parking areas. A renovation completed in 2014 modernized the facilities while retaining the historic structure.

The playing floor is made of maple wood and has been sanded and refinished multiple times over the decades. The interior acoustics amplify crowd noise naturally without need for speaker systems.

Location: Indianapolis

Inception: 1920s

Architects: Fermor Spencer Cannon

Official opening: March 7, 1928

Capacity: 9100

Website: http://butlersports.com/sports/2016/5/19/information-facilities-hinkle-fieldhouse.aspx

GPS coordinates: 39.84360,-86.16720

Latest update: December 14, 2025 18:46