Al Lawson Center

Alfred Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center and Teaching Gymnasium
Construction
"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 / 30.424318; -84.290473
Owner	Florida A&M University
Operator	Florida A&M University
Capacity	9,639 (basketball)
Surface	Hardwood
Broke ground	July 27, 2007
Opened	April 4, 2009 (basketball)
Construction cost	$40 Million ($54.6 million in 2022 dollars^[1])
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 May 28, 2023.
^ "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

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
<span style="color:white">Seasons</span>	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

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
<span style="color:white">Seasons</span>	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

Florida A&M University

Academics

Colleges & schools

College of Agriculture and Food Sciences
College of Education
College of Engineering
College of Law
College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities
College of Science and Technology
School of Allied Health Sciences
School of Architecture and Engineering Technology
School of Business and Industry
School of the Environment
School of Graduate Studies and Research
School of Journalism and Graphic Communication
School of Nursing

Associations

Athletics

Sports	Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Florida A&M Rattlers Football Men's basketball Women's basketball Florida Classic
Facilities	Bragg Memorial Stadium Alfred Lawson, Jr. Multipurpose Center Moore–Kittles Field
People	Kellen Winslow Joe Taylor Byron Samuels