Cornell Basketball and Barton Hall

Cornell's Barton Hall, the original home of Cornell Men's Basketball.

Cornell's Barton Hall, is now the home of Cornell's varsity indoor track programs.

Barton Hall had a seventy-year proud history of hosting the Cornell's Men's Basketball program.

Cornell's Newman Arena, the present home of Cornell Basketball, has become a great atmosphere for watching college basketball. Last season, Cornell led the Ivy League in attendance bolstered by the enthusiastic "Newman Nation" fan base. Truly a homecourt advantage, the Big Red maintains the nation's 3rd longest home floor winning streak at 21 games with 15 straight home wins against Ivy League teams. Great gyms also help in recruiting and Newman has certainly aided that cause in recent years.

Newman Arena opened in January of 1990 with an unofficial seating capacity of 4,750. While we view Newman as one of the Ivy League's best facilities, call us nostalgic, but we have repeatedly advocated on The Cornell Basketball Blog of returning the men's and women's basketball programs back to their original home on campus, the historic Barton Hall.

Older than Penn's Palestra and Butler's historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, Barton Hall opened during the 1914-1915 school year and was the proud home of Cornell basketball for more than seventy years until the construction of the modern Newman Arena. When Cornell Basketball left Barton, the grand facility was thereafter remodeled to become the current varsity indoor track venue. It is also used today by Cornell's Physical Education Department and the ROTC programs, not to mention the Cornell Police Department.

If given a proper a renovation and facelift, Barton could stand as one of the most glamorous gyms in college basketball. It has all the character, charm, ambience and history that an Ivy League basketball gym should have.

Barton Hall is easily spotted on campus with its massive gothic styled exterior and tower. The interior is cavernous complete with high vaulted ceilings and massive open windows facing the west hill of Ithaca. When the sunset is shinning through the "Cornell" logo painted glass windows late in the day, it can send chills down your back.

When packed full for a basketball game, Barton Hall was a special place. More than 9,000 screaming souls sat in the sourrounding bleachers, masked by dark shadows. Only the court remained lit creating a very dramatic display.

Cornell is sitting on a tremendous resource in Barton Hall. While this economic downturn may not be the best time to plan on additional campus renovations, Cornell should consider a middle to long term plan to return Cornell Basketball back to its home.