AN iconic college basketball arena nicknamed The Drum has now gone silent.

The Frank Erwin Center at the University of Texas in Austin is in the process of being demolished to make way for a new medical center.

The Frank Erwin Center was nicknamed The DrumCredit: YouTube/Fox 7

The $35 million basketball arena and concert venue opened in 1977Credit: Getty

It is now being demolished to make way for a new medical centerCredit: Youtube/KXAN

Local TV crews have shown images of the abandoned facilityCredit: YouTube/Fox 7
The $35 million arena, which opened in 1977, was known as The Drum due to its flat-topped roof and round shape.

It was officially named after Frank Erwin, a former chairman of the University of Texas System Board of Regents.

The 16,450-capacity venue was home to the Texas Longhorn’s men’s and women’s basketball teams until 2022.

Future NBA stars such as Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge and PJ Tucker once called the venue their home.

The Drum also staged numerous high-profile concerts, including the likes of Taylor Swift, David Bowie, Tina Turner, Lana Del Rey, Ariana Grande, Kiss, U2,  Bon Jovi, Pearl Jam, and Paul McCartney.

The Dalai Lama and multiple presidents have also spoken at the facility.

“It blew me away,” former Texas men’s coach Tom Penders recalled about the stadium.

“I was floored when I saw the arena. It was amazing.

 

“The doubters, the people who said we’ll never fill it up because it’s too big and all this stuff, well, some games we played, it wasn’t big enough.”

Now, the Erwin Center and the adjacent Cooley Pavilion are being demolished to make way for the new University of Texas Medical Center, including a new UT specialty care hospital and an MD Anderson Cancer Center.

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The hospital’s construction is estimated to cost $2.5 billion and is set to open by 2029 or 2030.

The demolition itself will cost $25 million.

“I hope this might come across as somewhat exciting, but we’re gonna blow up the Drum,” UT president Jay Hartzell said in May 2023.

The Longhorns’ basketball teams now play at the Moody Center.

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NBA icon Kevin Durant once called The Drum homeCredit: Getty

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The Texas Longhorn’s men’s and women’s basketball teams played at the facilityCredit: Getty

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The basketball teams now play at the Moody CenterCredit: Getty