NCAA BASKETBALL
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Ford Center
Home of the Evansville Purple Aces
1 SE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Evansville, IN 47708
Opened: November 5, 2011
The Ford Center is a multi-use indoor arena in downtown Evansville, Indiana with a maximum seating capacity of 11,000. It officially opened in November 2011 and is mainly used for basketball, ice hockey, and music concerts. It is home to the Evansville Thunderbolts minor league hockey team in the Southern Professional Hockey League and the Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team, representing the University of Evansville. The UE women's basketball team also played at Ford Center from the venue's opening, but moved its home games back to its campus starting with the 2017–18 season.

The Ford Center was designed by Populous (formerly HOK Sport) as a replacement for Roberts Municipal Stadium. The $127.5 million arena was approved by the Evansville City Council on December 22, 2008. Demolition work on the site began on December 5, 2009.

The Ford Center is bounded by Main Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, 6th Street, and Walnut Street. As planned, it will eventually connect to a new convention hotel and the existing convention center.

On August 17, 2011, the facility's name, Ford Center, was announced. The naming rights were the result of a 10-year, $4.2 million agreement with the Tri-State Ford Dealers.

On January 18, 2012, Aces junior Colt Ryan set an arena record with 39 points in a win against the Bradley Braves.

In 2016, the ECHL's Evansville IceMen and the City of Evansville failed to come to an agreement on a new lease and the IceMen's owner, Ron Geary, announced his intentions to relocate the team to Owensboro, Kentucky. In response, the City of Evansville brought in a new minor league hockey team called the Evansville Thunderbolts as part of the Southern Professional Hockey League for the 2016–17 season.
Last 10 Games
Date Opponents Result
Feb 28, 2026Valparaiso @ Evansville 0 - 0
Feb 18, 2026UIC @ Evansville 0 - 0
Feb 9, 2026Illinois State @ Evansville 0 - 0
Feb 3, 2026Indiana State @ Evansville 0 - 0
Jan 25, 2026Southern Illinois @ Evansville 0 - 0
Jan 13, 2026Bradley @ Evansville 0 - 0
Jan 7, 2026Murray State @ Evansville 0 - 0
Jan 4, 2026Northern Iowa @ Evansville 0 - 0
Dec 21, 2025Drake @ Evansville 0 - 0
Dec 16, 2025Belmont @ Evansville 0 - 0