NC State alumnus David Clark originally petitioned for the construction of the arena in 1940 after rain had ruined a North Carolina Farmers' Week meeting held in an outdoor facility. The
North Carolina General Assembly approved plans for the coliseum. A steel shortage threatened to delay the construction of the coliseum. However, because the proposed coliseum was also to be used as an armory, the "steel for the structure received a defense priority." Construction began in 1942. The foundation work and structural steel support system was completed by 1943 but construction was stopped due to
US involvement in
World War II. After the war the university was preoccupied with the building of housing and classroom facilities and the unfinished coliseum was left untouched until construction resumed in 1948. The arena was completed the following year and named in honor of
William Neal Reynolds (1863–1951) of
Winston-Salem. The arena was originally intended to seat 10,000 people, but while the building was still under construction, newly hired head basketball coach
Everett Case urged the administration to add an additional 2,400 seats, bringing capacity to 12,400. This was accomplished by expanding the structure at each end. It was the largest arena in the Southeast for many years. The first men's basketball game was played on December 2, 1949, against
Washington & Lee University. NC State defeated Washington and Lee, 67–47. Not all the seats had been installed at that time and many fans had to sit on the "cement tiers." The first women's basketball game was played on December 7, 1974. Men's basketball moved to the
Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena in 1999. The Wolfpack men have played a December regular-season "heritage" game at Reynolds Coliseum in recent years, and the arena hosted 2019
NIT first and second-round games against Hofstra and Harvard on March 19 and March 24. Reynolds was the original site of the
ACC men's basketball tournament from 1954 to 1966, the
Dixie Classic tournament from 1949 to 1960, and the
Southern Conference men's basketball tournament (1951–1953). It has hosted the
NCAA men's basketball tournament as a Regional site eight times, and as a subregional (first and second-round games) four times. It has also hosted the women's basketball tournament eleven times, only one of which was a regional site. The
ACC women's basketball tournament was held there twice, in 1979 and 1982. March 1982, in fact, was a very busy month for the arena: it hosted the ACC women's tournament, NCAA men's subregional, and NCAA women's regional all in succession. It was considered to be one of the toughest places to play in the
Atlantic Coast Conference. When ESPN asked contributors who played college basketball to identify the toughest arena they ever played in, former Duke center
Jay Bilas and former North Carolina guard
Hubert Davis chose Reynolds.
Jay Bilas: "To me, the toughest places to play had more to do with the quality of the opposing team than anything else, but Reynolds Coliseum at NC State was the toughest place I played while in college. Reynolds was configured much the same way as
Cameron Indoor Stadium, but the end zones were much deeper and the sides were right on top of you. Reynolds was loud, edgy and intense. The Wolfpack under
Jim Valvano were a tough out and the games were always fistfights, but the thing I remember most is coming back to a huddle and seeing lips move, but not being able to hear what was said. It was so hot and loud that your head would spin. Of course, having to guard guys like
Thurl Bailey,
Lorenzo Charles,
Cozell McQueen and
Chris Washburn probably had something to do with my head spinning."
Hubert Davis: "The toughest place I ever played was Reynolds Coliseum, former home of the NC State Wolfpack. Cameron Indoor Stadium and
Cole Field House don't even come close. I remember the long walk from the locker room to the floor. You had to enter under the bleachers and then had to sprint to the floor so that the fans wouldn't throw soda on us. The end zone seating went back as far as I've ever seen – the sea of red just never seemed to end. In the four years I played there as a Tar Heel, I never scored on the opposite basket away from our bench in the first half. I eventually calmed down, but was always flustered in those first 20 minutes. It was that intimidating." In May 2005, the arena was damaged by a small fire. Damage was minimal, and crews quickly repaired the structure. Renovations were completed in 2005 that added new lighting, a new sound system, and new separate floors for basketball and volleyball. The new sound system proved to be inadequate, and was reworked in 2008. Because of the unusually long floor area, the volleyball court was able to fit in the north end of the coliseum perpendicular to the basketball court. The basketball area of the coliseum was curtained off or blocked off with temporary bleachers during volleyball matches. During basketball games temporary bleachers were rolled out over the volleyball floor, as well as over the open area on the south end of the court. The arena was closed in March 2015 for extensive remodeling, which cost an estimated $35 million. The project moved the competition floor to the south end of the arena while lowering the seating capacity to 5,500 (it can be a bit higher for festival events). The north end of the building features a new Walk of Fame and History, including a permanent home for the
NC State Athletic Hall of Fame, as well as offices for women's basketball and volleyball. Restrooms, concessions and hospitality areas were renovated and concourses were widened. A new video control room for all sports was added. And for the first time, the entire arena is air-conditioned. NC State's volleyball team was the first to play at home in the newly renovated Reynolds on September 9, 2016, defeating Delaware 3–0. ==Configuration==