The Joyce Center is an 11,418-seat multi-purpose arena north of South Bend, Indiana. The arena opened in 1968. It is home to the University of
Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball and volleyball teams. The main arena is the southern part of the Joyce Center; it also houses the hockey
rink in the northern half of the center and the Rolfs Aquatic Center (which was added on in 1985) in the rear of the building. It is located across a
pedestrian arcade from Notre Dame Stadium, and the center's two domes could easily be seen rising above the stadium's east side prior to its
expansion. The 10-acre building, designed by the renowned sports architects at Ellerbe Architects of Saint Paul, Minnesota, was built in
twenty-nine months, and opened the first week of December, 1968 as the Athletic & Convocation Center. It was renamed in 1987 to honor the
Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C., Notre Dame's executive vice president from 1952 to 1987. Prior to the building of the Joyce Center, the basketball
team played in the Notre Dame Fieldhouse, which opened in 1900.
In the fall of 2006, the University announced major renovation plans for the Joyce Center. The south dome, which houses the basketball arena,
will undergo a $24.6 million renovation and will be renamed Purcell Pavilion, after Phillip J. Purcell, a Notre Dame alumnus and trustee.
Architectural firm HNTB studied the center after the university began considering renovations in 2001 and will work on the project. A start date will
not be determined until all of the $24.6 million have been raised. The capacity though will go down from 11,418 to 9,800.
