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Sports
MPR News Staff

University of Minnesota exploring naming rights for Williams Arena

players are offense during the game
A crowd fills the stands at Williams Arena for a women's basketball game between Minnesota and Iowa on Feb. 28, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Kerem Yücel | MPR News file

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The University of Minnesota’s venerable Williams Arena may soon have a new name.

The U of M announced Thursday that it’s exploring possible naming rights for the venue that’s home to the Gophers men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well as other sporting events.

“The Barn” is nearing 100 years old. The university is partnering with the firm Independent Sports & Entertainment as it considers naming rights for the arena.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for a company to align themselves with the University of Minnesota and with Gopher Athletics,” U of M Director of Athletics Mark Coyle said in a news release. “We look forward to working with ISE to find a naming rights partner that will help us continue to provide world-class experiences for our student-athletes.”

The sale of naming rights would be a potential revenue source for the university. It already has naming deals in place for the venues of its men’s hockey team (3M Arena at Mariucci) and football team (Huntington Bank Stadium).

Williams Arena opened in 1928, initially as the University of Minnesota Field House. It was later renamed in honor of former Gophers football coach Dr. Henry L. Williams, who led the team from 1900 to 1921 — including a 35-game winning streak from 1903 to 1905.

The building has been renovated many times over the years, and has also been home to high school state basketball tournament games and the Big Ten wrestling championships. It was home to the Minnesota Lynx when they won the WNBA title in 2017, while Target Center was undergoing renovations.