Al Lawson Center

Alfred Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center and Teaching Gymnasium
"Al Lawson Center"
Location	1800 Wahnish Way; Tallahassee, Florida 32310
Coordinates	30°25′28″N 84°17′26″W / 30.424318°N 84.290473°W
Owner	Florida A&M University
Operator	Florida A&M University
Capacity	9,639 (basketball)
Surface	Hardwood
Construction
Broke ground	July 27, 2007
Opened	April 4, 2009 (basketball)
Construction cost	$40 Million; ($56.8 million in 2023 dollars)
Architect	Williams-Russell & Johnson, Inc; Akin & Associates Architects, Inc.
Project manager	Turner Construction
General contractor	F.L. Crane & Sons
Tenants
	Florida A&M Rattlers athletics

The Alfred Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center and Teaching Gymnasium (known as the Al Lawson Center) is a 9,639-seat multi-purpose arena in Tallahassee, Florida on the Campus of Florida A&M University.^[2] It was built in 2009 and it is home to the Florida A&M men's and women's basketball teams and women's volleyball team. The arena replaced Jake Gaither Gymnasium, which is a 3,365-seat multi-purpose arena. The Al Lawson Center is the second biggest arena in Tallahassee, behind the 12,500-seat Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.^[3]^{[failed verification]} The official ribbon cutting ceremony was April 8, 2009.^[4]

The center is named for Congressman Al Lawson, himself a former FAMU basketball player, who was instrumental in getting the funding for this center and other buildings on the campus of Florida A&M University during his tenure in the Florida Legislature.^[5]

The Al Lawson Center is the 3rd largest arena in the Florida Panhandle, and is often used as an alternative to the much larger and older Donald L. Tucker Center.^{[citation needed]} It was the Tallahassee stop of actress/singer/native Floridian Ariana Grande's Honeymoon Tour in 2015.

References

^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
^ "FAMU's New Gym, New era in FAMU Basketball".^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "About Us". Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.
^ "Ribbon Cutting Ceremony". Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University.
^ "FAMU Holds Renaming Ceremonies for Campus Buildings and Road". WCTV CBS Tallahassee.

External links

Al Lawson Center - FAMUAthletics.com

[inflation-US-1] 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.

[Ribbon-Cutting_Ceremony-2] "FAMU's New Gym, New era in FAMU Basketball".^{[permanent dead link]}

[Donald_L._Tucker_Center_Arena_Info-3] "About Us". Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.

[Florida_A&M_University_Hosts_Ribbon-Cutting_Ceremony-4] "Ribbon Cutting Ceremony". Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University.

[FAMU_Holds_Renaming_Ceremonies_for_Campus_Buildings_and_Road-5] "FAMU Holds Renaming Ceremonies for Campus Buildings and Road". WCTV CBS Tallahassee.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

v t e Florida A&M Rattlers basketball
Venues	Jake Gaither Gymnasium (1963–2009) Al Lawson Center (2009–present)
Culture & lore	"Rattler Orange and Green"
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons Records lost 1932–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

v t e Florida A&M Lady Rattlers basketball
Venues	Jake Gaither Gymnasium (1977–2009) Al Lawson Center (2009–present)
Culture & lore	"Rattler Orange and Green"
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

See also

References

External links