Marriott Center
Built in 1971
The building is named for J. Willard Marriott, a primary benefactor for its construction. He was the founder of the Marriott Corporation, which includes numerous hotels, restaurant chains, and food services.
This extremely large building is the Marriott Center, home of the BYU Basketball teams. It was designed with basketball athletes in mind, with a special resting room for the athletes that is furnished with 15 seven-foot beds. This building is not only used for basketball games, but for devotionals, forums, firesides, dance performances, major concerts, community activities, and commencement exercises. Each Tuesday at 11:00 a.m., the university family gathers here for forums and devotionals. Speakers include local LDS Church Authorities, faculty, as well as world leaders such as Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Margaret Thatcher, Mark Zukerburg, and David Axelrod, etc.
The roof, called a space frame, is unique in that it consists of one large steel truss instead of several trusses placed side by side. It was constructed on the ground level and then raised thirty-five feet into place on top of thirty-eight steel columns. At the time, it was the largest roof structure ever erected and lifted by this method. The steel in the space frame weighs more than 2.5 million pounds. Were a building erected on the basketball floor, it could rise ten stories before reaching the roof. A continuous concourse encircles the building with twenty-two portals into the arena area. After a recent renovation, the Marriott Center seats a total of 19,000.
The MC Annex was a project started in 2005 when then- head coach Dave Rose started to work towards a dedicated, basketball-only facility. 10 years later construction began and the building was finished in 2017.
The facility was made to mirror the Marriot Center court, with an exact replica in in the center and more courts on each side. Additional hoops are found lining the walls of the facility, creating the ability to use up to 12 basketball hoops simultaneously.
Other facilities include 2 film rooms, a strength and conditioning room, a lounge area for studying and having meetings, alumni locker rooms and showers (for former players to use when visiting), a cyrosauna (an ice bath powered by liquid nitrogen), and rooms with 15 extra-long seven foot beds.
