Photos by David Welch, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 3.14
Timmons Arena 1250 Duncan Chapel Rd Greenville, SC 29617
Year Opened: 1998
Capacity: 3,500
Furman Once, Furman Twice, Furman Three Times…
On February 20, 2024 it was announced that Timmons Arena would undergo a $40 million renovation following the season, as part of Phase II of the “Timmons Arena Project”. Renovations will include adding donor suites, premium seating, and hospitality amenities; an enhanced student experience; improvements to concessions and merchandise areas; and redesigned entry points. The most important need though is for improved flow for fans around the arena.
Renderings courtesy of Furman Athletics
The Paladins moved to the on-campus Timmons Arena in 1998, after leaving their previous home of 38 years, Memorial Gymnasium, which had been lovingly nicknamed “The Brown Box”.
Furman has been a member of the Southern Conference since 1936, which is only equaled by The Citadel Bulldogs, who also joined the conference the same year. During that time the Paladins have won seven Southern Conference regular season titles and seven conference tournament championships, to go with seven NCAA Tournament appearances – their most recent appearance in 2023 saw the 13-seed Furman knock off the # 4 seeded Virginia Cavaliers.
Food & Beverage 4
The upper-level concessions offer various combination platters served with an entrée, fries, and a drink; these platters include chicken fingers, a burger, or a hot dog. The menu’s inclusion of fried mozzarella sticks, fried pretzels, and even fried Oreos and funnel fries might make fans feel as if they are at the state fair more so than at a college basketball game.
Concessions on the court level of the arena are a bit more limited to hot dogs, sausages, pizza, candy/snacks, and soft drinks. The lines here get rather backed up, especially during the half time break.
Alcohol is sold at Timmons Arena; selections include personal-sized bottles of white and red wines, hard seltzer, domestic beers, and craft beers from Sierra Nevada and Wicked Weed.
Atmosphere 3
Timmons Arena in its current appearance blends in nicely with the campus architecture, but it doesn’t stand out as the school’s basketball arena. Its elongated, hexagonal shape provides several logistical challenges when it comes to housing basketball and navigating the facility.
Given the interesting design of the arena and the unbalanced arrangement of banners in the rafters at each end of the court, it makes the court itself seem to not be centered on the floor – viewed from the baselines, the scoreboard is actually centered above the floor, but the optics of the off-balance banner alignment certainly doesn’t make it appear that way.
Throughout the game the in-game host, who doubles as arena DJ, does a good job trying to keep the interest of fans in the game. Between the on-court contests, the cheer and dance squads, the Furman Paladin mascot, and a pep band, the Timmons Arena basketball experience does offer fans a great deal of entertainment to complement the game.
Given the size of Timmons Arena, every seat is close to the action, but structural support beams do block the view of the scoreboards for fans seated in the upper reaches of the seating across from the benches. While the scorer’s table does have basic time and score information, the main scoreboards do provide a bit more of a look into the stats.
Going forward, artist renditions of the future of Timmons Arena show that the game experience will change a great deal, and the experience will never be the same as it was before. While the arena will be completed on the same footprint as Timmons Arena, it will not simply give the facility an updated look, but it will without a doubt create a new facility all together.
Neighborhood 3
Located on the northern reaches of Greenville, Furman is roughly where the city turns into suburban neighborhoods, before becoming more rural as the suburbs give way to the mountains of South Carolina.
Furman’s campus covers a sprawling 750 acres. Beyond the academic, residential, and athletic facilities, Swan Lake, a walking trail around it, and even a golf course open to the public are all within the campus confines.
If approaching Furman from the back side of campus, Highway 25 has several food trucks serving various types of Latino food, and the approach from Highway 276 has a higher concentration of chain restaurants.
Furman’s campus is just over 6 miles from all that downtown Greenville has to offer. Options in the are a bit limited, however, when it comes to the immediate vicinity of the arena.
Downtown Greenville provides visitors with numerous points of interests, including scenic Falls Park and Liberty Bridge skywalk, or Main Street Greenville with several restaurants, shops, and a handful of breweries. The downtown area also has a strong concentration of hotels for visitors.
Early afternoon games at Timmons Arena could pair nicely with an evening watching the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL, at nearby Bon Secures Wellness Arena.
Fans 3
Furman basketball fans turn out to the tune of about 2,100 per game, but tend to be more reactive to plays rather than creating an atmosphere that might be considered a home court advantage.
Fans do get loud for runs that the Paladins go on, but it just seems as if there really needs to be a spark lit under them for the fans to get loud. Also, while students make up a large section across from the visiting team’s bench, they do not seem to make much of an impact on the game’s atmosphere until a turning point might present itself – it just seems that, as intimate a setting as Timmons Arena is, the student section should jump out at you, but instead it does take a moment of searching.
Fans on the whole are into the game and support the Paladins, especially through cheers and holding their “FU” towels, but as a whole, they seem to be more waiting for something to happen in the game to collectively get loud about, rather than making it the norm for the arena.
Access 2
Furman is north of downtown Greenville; it can be a bit of a challenge to get to as there is no direct interstate access to the facility. Two major throughfares, US Highways 25 and 276, run along either side of campus; the challenge is even after exiting I-185, there are still 10 miles of surface streets and traffic lights to contend with.
Parking at Timmons arena is free, but it might take a bit of guidance to get to. Much of the parking immediately surrounding the arena is composed of donor lots, but additional parking can be found in the area closer to Paladin Stadium – shuttle trollies take fans to the Poinsett Parking area on the far side of the football stadium.
The doors on either side of the front of Timmons Arena lead fans to a security check before they can pass into the main lobby area, for tickets to be scanned for entry into the playing area. The lobby can be a bit tight, and the configuration requires fans to have tickets re-checked if passing between the two sides of the arena via the main lobby.
Navigating Timmons Arena can be a bit of a challenge. Seating on the near side of Timmons is easy enough to access, but if sitting in the stands across the arena, it requires going to the floor level, navigating around the back side of the social gathering areas, then along the sideline of the floor to get to your seats. This does create some uncertainty about how to get to your seats if the ball is in play; there is not direct access to seats on this side of the floor.
Rather than a natural flow for fans to follow, ushers and other arena personnel are strategically positioned to direct fans away from restricted team areas and toward the locations accessible to fans.
Return on Investment 4
Get in the door prices run $18 for seats in the upper section of sideline seating. What is a relief is that, despite using Ticketmaster, a promotional code is automatically applied to the order which avoids service and convenience charges.
When factoring in free parking with an $18 ticket and reasonable concession prices, fans are definitely getting their money’s worth.
Extras 3
Furman does a good job recognizing the historical achievements of the program – the lobby area proudly displays trophies earned by the program over the years, and also serves at the Furman Athletics Hall of Fame.
The rafters specifically honor the six players who have had their numbers retired, along with recognizing the 46-year career of Coach Lyles Alley. Banners also display Southern Conference regular season and tournament championships alongside NCAA tournament and NIT appearances.
Both scoreboards pay tribute to Frank Selvy’s 100-point game against Newberry College in 1954; the All-American Selvy would go on to be the #1 draft pick in the NBA’s 1954 draft by the Baltimore Bullets, where he would garner NBA All-Star honors in 1955 and ‘62.
Final Thoughts
During the upcoming construction, the Furman’s men’s basketball team will play their home schedule at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, just a few hundred feet from where The Brown Box once stood, playing a major role in the history of Furman Basketball. The Paladins are no strangers to Bon Secours Wellness Arena, as it has served as a secondary home in the past, as part of Furman’s Weekends at the Well.
Timmons Arena is definitely an arena full of quirks and oddities, the kind that only alumni and Furman fans can appreciate – it is typically those unique features that make it such a special place for so many.
When fans return to Timmons Arena at the start of the 2025 season, it appears that it’ll be a completely new facility both aesthetically and emotionally. There can be no replacing something that so many have grown to have deep emotional ties to, but the updated version will gives fans an opportunity to appreciate the work and generosity of all those involved in creating a new experience, while bringing the basketball experience for fans, players, and coaches alike into the 21st century.
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