Pete Hanna Center
Encyclopedia
The Pete Hanna Center is the building housing the 4,974-seat Thomas E. and Marla H. Corts Arena on the campus of Samford University
in Homewood, Alabama
(a suburb of Birmingham
)
It is home to the Samford Bulldogs
basketball
and volleyball
teams, having replaced Seibert Hall
. The facility opened in November 2007 and is named for Pete Hanna, the owner, president and chief executive officer of Hanna Steel Corporation. The arena is named for Thomas
and Marla Corts, former president and first lady of Samford University.
The Pete Hanna Center opened on October 18, 2007 with a lecture by best-selling author Walter Isaacson
. The 101000 square feet (9,383.2 m²) Hanna Center seats 5,000 in Corts Arena and is the home to Samford University
Commencement, as well as playing host to concerts, high school basketball, conferences and a yearly stop from the Harlem Globetrotters
. A record crowd of 5,116 watched the Samford men's basketball team take on Davidson College
on January 31, 2009. The Hanna Center also contains a workout facility for students, faculty and staff, athletics offices, locker rooms, athletic training and strength and conditioning facilities.
Most recently, the Pete Hanna Center was the host of the 2009 T-Mobile
Invitational. The prestigious national high school basketball tournament was played December 29-30, 2009 at the Hanna Center. The Hanna Center is also the host of the yearly Birmingham stop of the World Famous Harlem Globetrotters.
Samford University
Samford University, founded as Howard College is a private, coeducational, Alabama Baptist Convention-affiliated university located in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It includes the , Cumberland School of Law, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Brock School of Business, Ida V....
in Homewood, Alabama
Homewood, Alabama
Homewood is a city in southeastern Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. It is a suburb of Birmingham, located on the other side of Red Mountain due south of the city center. It has one of the highest population densities in Alabama. As of 2009 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the...
(a suburb of Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
)
It is home to the Samford Bulldogs
Samford Bulldogs
Samford University fields 17 varsity teams . The Bulldogs have done well in recent years in both football and men's basketball, participating in the 1999 and 2000 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. The women's basketball team made its initial NCAA tournament appearance in the 2011 NCAA...
basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
teams, having replaced Seibert Hall
Seibert Hall
Seibert Hall is a 4,240-seat multi-purpose arena in Homewood, Alabama. It was built in 1961. It was home to the Samford University Bulldogs basketball team...
. The facility opened in November 2007 and is named for Pete Hanna, the owner, president and chief executive officer of Hanna Steel Corporation. The arena is named for Thomas
Thomas E. Corts
Thomas E. Corts served as President of Wingate University in North Carolina from 1974 to 1981, and the 17th President of Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama from 1983 to 2006.-Biography:...
and Marla Corts, former president and first lady of Samford University.
The Pete Hanna Center opened on October 18, 2007 with a lecture by best-selling author Walter Isaacson
Walter Isaacson
Walter Isaacson is a writer and biographer. He is the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C. He has been the Chairman and CEO of CNN and the Managing Editor of TIME...
. The 101000 square feet (9,383.2 m²) Hanna Center seats 5,000 in Corts Arena and is the home to Samford University
Samford University
Samford University, founded as Howard College is a private, coeducational, Alabama Baptist Convention-affiliated university located in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It includes the , Cumberland School of Law, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Brock School of Business, Ida V....
Commencement, as well as playing host to concerts, high school basketball, conferences and a yearly stop from the Harlem Globetrotters
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over...
. A record crowd of 5,116 watched the Samford men's basketball team take on Davidson College
Davidson College
Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. The college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently ranked in the top ten liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News and World Report magazine, although it has recently dropped to 11th in U.S. News...
on January 31, 2009. The Hanna Center also contains a workout facility for students, faculty and staff, athletics offices, locker rooms, athletic training and strength and conditioning facilities.
Most recently, the Pete Hanna Center was the host of the 2009 T-Mobile
T-Mobile
T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
Invitational. The prestigious national high school basketball tournament was played December 29-30, 2009 at the Hanna Center. The Hanna Center is also the host of the yearly Birmingham stop of the World Famous Harlem Globetrotters.