Belk Gymnasium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charlotte, North Carolina 28223
The Mine Shaft | |
 Belk Gym post-renovation | |
 Interactive map of Belk Gymnasium | |
| Location | UNC Charlotte Charlotte, North Carolina 28223 |
|---|---|
| Owner | University of North Carolina at Charlotte |
| Operator | University of North Carolina at Charlotte |
| Capacity | 3,000 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1968 |
| Opened | 1970 |
| Closed | 1996 (for intercollegiate events) |
| Tenants | |
| Charlotte 49ers (men) (NCAA) (1970–1976) Charlotte 49ers (women) (NCAA) (1975–1996) | |
Belk Gymnasium, known informally as The Mine Shaft, is a gymnasium on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. Completed in 1970, it was the first on-campus home of the Charlotte 49ers basketball team.
Before Belk Gym was built, UNC Charlotte's basketball team (then a member of the NAIA) played at various high school gyms in the greater Charlotte area. As the full-time home of the 49ers from 1970 through 1976, the team enjoyed a tremendous home-court advantage, going undefeated at home in 1974, 1975, and 1976. When Charlotte joined the Sun Belt Conference for the 1976–77 season, Belk's seating capacity (approximately 3,000) was too small for the conference's standards; as a result, the team moved its conference home games to the original Charlotte Coliseum.
From 1976 until the opening of Dale F. Halton Arena in 1996, the 49ers' women's basketball team and volleyball team played in the Mine Shaft; the men's basketball team played lower-profile non-league games in the gym during that time period - at least one each season.