The Kohl Center FAQ

Kohl Center information telephone number: (608) 263-KOHL
460,000 square foot multipurpose facility (Basketball, Hockey, Volleyball, Concerts, Family Shows, Commencement, State High School Championships, Tournaments).
Capacity:

17,230 for Men's Basketball, which includes Courtside Seating
17,142 for Women's Basketball
13,313 for Hockey
(plus an additional 1,896 obstructed view seats)

End Stage Concerts:
360 Degrees -- 17,659
270 Degrees -- 14,315
180 Degrees -- 11,954

1,827 in the Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion

Intimate - double balcony configuration brings seats closer to the event floor.
Accessible - building meets all ADA requirements and exceeds these requirements in many areas. Highlights: 333 wheelchair and wheelchair companion locations, 6 TDD telephones, tactile/audible directories, assisted listening devices, at grade entry, two passenger elevators, family restrooms.
26 public restrooms with 54% of fixtures for women. Seven family (unisex) restrooms. All restrooms are equipped with diaper changing stations and all plumbing fixtures have touchless flush valves or faucets.
Excellent sight lines. Variable rise seating system converts 1,548 end arena seats from Hockey seating to Basketball seating configurations.
36 luxury suites (28 on Kohl concourse, 8 on Kellner concourse). Three suites (Nicholas Suites) available for rent on an event by event basis with capacities for up to 160 people.
18 concession stands with 93 sale points (25 ADA) and 10 portable food stands. Two stands are equipped with a grill and three stands are equipped with pizza ovens.
Retail store (2,400 square feet).
Automatic teller machine.
15 payphones (6 TDD).
14 ticket sales windows.
Full service kitchen providing cuisine for suites and catered events.
Four loading dock bays and one drive-in bay.
Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion - 22,000 square foot practice gymnasium with three basketball/volleyball courts. Public restrooms and a delivery dock have been included to accommodate functions for up to 1,827 people.
2300 square foot sports medicine facility.
1600 square foot strength and conditioning room.
Eight locker rooms: home hockey, home men's basketball, home women's basketball, visiting basketball, visiting hockey, officials, and two tournament locker rooms.
Full service equipment room with laundry facilities for teams.

Media accommodations:

835 square foot work room
1870 square foot interview room
dark room
house photo strobe system
house broadcast cabling system

Concert accommodations:

six Super Trouper II follow spot lights.
eight spot light platforms
40'x60', Stage Right, roll and set stage.
1,800 amps for show power (400 isolated for sound).
Engineered safety cabling system for rigging at roof steel level.

Site features:

"Kohl Center Promenade", the light sculpture created by two University of Wisconsin-Madison art professors (Steve Feren and Gail Simpson), consists of 12 seventeen-foot tall light towers using concrete, bronze, stainless steel, acrylic, and 2,400 computer-controlled L.E.D.s (Light Emitting Diodes).
80 new trees planted (8 different species)
100,000 square feet of green space
80' wide plaza at main entry available for outdoor events.
61 bike racks (2 bikes per rack).

Construction finishes:

30,000 square feet of glass.
Granite tile and stainless steel walk off grates in entry vestibules.
Terrazzo floors at concourses and public restrooms.
Portugese stone tile to 5' on walls.

Art:

Dale Chihuly - (world renown blown glass artist and former UW student) Mendota wall at main entry.
Replication of crest from Fieldhouse installed on building, adjacent to main entry. Crest includes tile work by mosaic artist Peter Columbo.
Basketball player impressions in pre-cast wall panels on Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion (George Heinlein).
UW crest etched in glass at entry doors.

Advertising opportunities:

16 backlit panels (1'-6" x 4'-5") adjacent to corner score/message boards in seating bowl
8 backlit panels (3'-0" x 8'-0") recessed in walls in the main seating bowl.
24 backlit panels (3'-0" x 5'-0") recessed in walls in the public concourses.
Hockey dasher boards.
Zamboni.
4 corner signs located above the 4 main arena floor entrances.
Signage on all television cases located at all concession stands.

Financial Information:

Total cost - 76 million.
49 million raised from private donations.
27 million in State bonding, to be paid back from operational revenues.
No tax dollars.

Trivia:

The 40,000 cubic yards of concrete used in constructing the Kohl Center could build a sidewalk from Madison, WI to Chicago, IL.
Eleven miles of coolant pipe is embedded in the hockey floor.
It would take 1,351,990,520 hockey pucks to fill the Kohl Center.