Tin Can
Encyclopedia
Officially named the Indoor Athletic Center (or Court), the Tin Can was the home of North Carolina Tar Heels
men's basketball
from the 1924 season until the team's relocation to the Woollen Gymnasium
in 1938. It replaced Bynum Gymnasium
, a venue known for its unusual running track suspended above the court.
Rudimentarily built of steel, attempts to heat the building during early season at first failed, with ice often forming inside:
The team, known as the White Phantoms, used this to their advantage, becoming one of the South's most successful programs by the mid-1920s.
As success continued into Southern Conference
play in the 1930s, the capacity of the Tin Can proved insufficient to meet the increased interest in the team. North Carolina played the last of their games there at the end of the 1938 season, having officially moved to the adjacent Woollen Gymnasium on January 4, 1938. In fourteen years, the team had accumulated a 120–38 winning record.
No longer needed for major athletic events the Tin Can was used for a variety of purposes during the remainder of its life. Immediately after World War II
, the arena housed returning veterans due to a shortage of dormitary space, while in the early 1950s it was used for storage of medical equipment before the completion of North Carolina Memorial Hospital. After hosting a limited number of indoor track meetings in preceding years, the Tin Can was finally demolished in 1977 to allow the construction of the present day Fetzer Gymnasium.
North Carolina Tar Heels
The North Carolina Tar Heels are the athletic teams for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the Tar Heel State...
men's basketball
North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball
The North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is considered one of the most successful programs in NCAA history...
from the 1924 season until the team's relocation to the Woollen Gymnasium
Woollen Gymnasium
Woollen Gymnasium was the home of the University of North Carolina's physical education classes from 1937 and the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball from early 1938. The Gymnasium was named after Charles T. Woollen, Class of 1905...
in 1938. It replaced Bynum Gymnasium
Bynum Gymnasium
Bynum Gymnasium was the first home of North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball. It was built in 1904 as a general gymnasium and swimming pool, and hosted the basketball team for the first fourteen years of its existence . The most distinctive feature of the gymnasium was its second level...
, a venue known for its unusual running track suspended above the court.
Rudimentarily built of steel, attempts to heat the building during early season at first failed, with ice often forming inside:
The team, known as the White Phantoms, used this to their advantage, becoming one of the South's most successful programs by the mid-1920s.
As success continued into Southern Conference
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North...
play in the 1930s, the capacity of the Tin Can proved insufficient to meet the increased interest in the team. North Carolina played the last of their games there at the end of the 1938 season, having officially moved to the adjacent Woollen Gymnasium on January 4, 1938. In fourteen years, the team had accumulated a 120–38 winning record.
No longer needed for major athletic events the Tin Can was used for a variety of purposes during the remainder of its life. Immediately after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the arena housed returning veterans due to a shortage of dormitary space, while in the early 1950s it was used for storage of medical equipment before the completion of North Carolina Memorial Hospital. After hosting a limited number of indoor track meetings in preceding years, the Tin Can was finally demolished in 1977 to allow the construction of the present day Fetzer Gymnasium.