Directions to Kaplan Arena at William and Mary Hall:
From the North/West: Take I-64 East to Lightfoot Exit 234 (Route
199 East). At top of exit ramp, take a right onto Route 199 East. Stay
on 199 East until Monticello Avenue exit. Exit at Monticello Avenue, and
bear left on exit ramp. At bottom of ramp, turn left at light onto
Monticello (pass under 199). Go straight through fifth stoplight (at
Ironbound Road). After the light, continue straight for about half a
mile and take the first right onto Compton Drive (before light at the
former-hospital and shopping centers) There may not be a street sign!
The road is heavily wooded on both sides. Continue on Compton Drive and
turn right at the first stop sign onto Brooks Road. William and Mary
Hall will be on your left. Please DO NOT park on the ramp!
From the South/East: (Before January 11th*) Take I-64 West to
Exit 242 A (Route 199 West). Follow 199 through five lights to the
Monticello Exit and follow directions above.
From the South/East: (After January 11th) Take I-64 West to Exit
242A (Route 199 West). Follow 199 to fourth light. At the fourth light,
take a right onto Jamestown Road. Follow Jamestown Road 1.1 miles (past
Lake Matoaka on left), then take a left onto Ukrop Drive. Take a left at
the next stop sign and continue to follow Ukrop Drive while bearing
right until you reach William and Mary Hall up the hill on your left.
Description
William and Mary Hall opened in 1971 and is the home of the Tribe volleyball, basketball and gymnastic programs. On the concourse and lower levels of
the building are coaching and staff offices housing the William and
Mary athletic department. The broad-based program offers 23
intercollegiate varsity sports to William and Mary undergraduates.
The 2005-06 season saw a new addition to the facility. The
gymnasium became known as Kaplan Arena in honor of athletics department
donors Jim and Jane Kaplan. The name was officially approved in a
special session of the W&M Board of Visitors inside the newly named
facility prior to the 2005 W&M Tip-Off Classic tournament banquet.
Kaplan Arena was named in recognition of the longtime support of the
Kaplans, who most recently announced a commitment of $7 million in
support of the Tribe men's basketball team. Inducted into the W&M
Athletics Department Hall of Fame in 1987, Jim Kaplan graduated from the
College in 1957 following a stellar basketball career in which he was a
captain and three-year starter, scoring 863 points and pulling down 341
rebounds. Jim and his wife, Jane, who graduated from W&M in 1956,
have served as co-chairs of the Athletic Campaign Committee since 2001. A
member of the W&M Endowment Association since 1997, Jim Kaplan was a
board member of the W&M Society of the Alumni from 1995-2000, has
been an executive partner with the College's business school since 2000,
and has been a member of the Campaign for William and Mary steering
committee since 2001. Jane Kaplan served as co-chair of the Lord
Botetourt Auction in 2003 and 2004, an annual event that raises money
for the Tribe Club. A recipient of the W&M Alumni Medallion in 2002,
Jim is the owner of Cornell Dubilier Electronics, the world's oldest
manufacturer of electronic capacitors.
Total capacity of the arena is about 8,600, but by using
bleachers in the open end and chairs on the floor, capacity can be
expanded to 11,300 for convocations, concerts or theater-in-the-round.
The building features a medical suite, seminar room, a gymnastics
workout area and another room for other sports usages. The facility
houses 12 locker room areas with adjoining showers. In addition, there
is a newly expanded, 5,000 square-feet weight training facility complete
with Nautilus and other free-weight equipment.
The Hall, completed in 17 months by the Southeastern Construction
Company of Charlotte, North Carolina, opened just in time for the
inaugural game between the Tribe and the University of North Carolina
Tar Heels. Financed by state revenue bonds, the total cost of the
structure was $5.3 million.
Other sporting events held here have included the Harlem Globetrotters
and the Roller Derby. Fans in the Williamsburg area have seen auto
shows, dog shows, Prince Charles, Glenn Close, a Billy Graham crusade,
Bette Midler, Billy Joel, speeches by presidential candidates Jimmy
Carter and Gerald Ford, the Shakespeare Players, a three-ring circus,
and even a Howdy Doody show. In October of 2012, the facility will host the Dalai Lama.
The first concert held was Sly and the Family Stone held in 1971. The
largest crowd for a concert was 13,514 for the Police in February 1982.
Other performers in the Hall included R.E.M., Sting, the Grateful Dead,
Bruce Hornsby, 10,000 Maniacs, Beach Boys, Chicago, Stone Temple Pilots
and many more.
