Maryland's Cole Field House opened in 1955 and, in addition to serving as the Terrapins' basketball home, hosted events that would make it one of the classic venues in all of college basketball. Arguably the most impactful game in the sport's history, Texas Western's 1966's national championship upset of Kentucky, was played at Cole Field House. Lew Alcindor played there. So did Elvis Presley, Queen, The Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan. The Chinese ping pong team played there during the height of the Cold War, as did the Soviet gymnastics team.
Cole Field House was an important place - emphasis on the past tense. Maryland moved its basketball teams to XFINITY Center in 2003, and the arena has mostly sat unused for the past decade Not anymore.
Maryland officials have announced plans to sink $155 million into the 59-year-old structure to morph it into an indoor facility for the Terps' football program.
The facility, which will keep the Cole name and share use with the university's medical center and entrepreneurial program, is backed by Kevin Plank. Everything that gets done at Maryland is, after all.
"Imagine we've got a lightning storm outside and they're literally putting the players on busses," Plank told the Baltimore Sun. "Either they drive them down to Redskin Park or they're sticking them on buses to Owings Mills and borrowing a facility from the Ravens. How is a coach supposed to prepare?"
The first phase of the project is set to complete in spring of 2017.
Below is how Cole Field House appears now:
And here's how it will look upon completion:
