The plans for the stadium were drawn up in 1935 by basketball coach Eddie Cameron. The stadium was designed by Julian Abele, who studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, France. The same architectural firm that built the Palestra was brought in to build the new stadium. The arena was dedicated on January 6, 1940, having cost $400,000. At the time, it was the largest gymnasium in the country south of the Palestra at the University of Pennsylvania. Originally called "Duke Indoor Stadium", it was renamed for Cameron on January 22, 1972; that day the Blue Devils beat archrival North Carolina 76-74. The first nationally televised game took place on January 28, 1979 against Marquette, it was broadcast by NBC and won by Duke 69–64. Regionally televised games in the Atlantic Coast Conference, including from the Duke Indoor Stadium, had begun in the late 1950s. The building originally included seating for 8,800, though standing room was sufficient to ensure that 9,500 could fit in on a particularly busy day. Then, as now, Duke students were allocated a large number of the seats, including those in the lower sections directly alongside the court. Renovations in 1987–1988 removed the standing room areas, added an electronic scoreboard and display over center court, wood paneling, brass railings and student seats, bringing capacity to 9,314, though now there is sufficient standing room to ensure 10,000 could fit. For high-profile games, students are known to pack in as many as 1,600 into the student sections, designed for a maximum of 1,100. Prior to the 2002–2003 basketball season, air conditioning units were installed in Cameron for the first time as a response to health and odor concerns for players and fans alike. Prior to the 2008–09 season, a new video scoreboard replaced the electronic board over center court. Before the 2009–10 season, additional changes were made, including installing LED ribbon boards to the front of the press table and painting the upper seats Duke blue. Cameron is one of the few major arenas that uses backboards suspended from the ceiling instead of anchored on the floor.
Atmosphere
The students and fans are known as "Cameron Crazies" for their support of the team and loud cheering that has been recorded as high as 121.3 dB, which is louder than a power saw at 3 feet or a jackhammer. For access to major games, including those against the University of North Carolina, students reside in tents for months in an area outside of Cameron known as "Krzyzewskiville", named after legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski. The hardwood floor was dedicated and renamed Coach K Court in November 2000.
Media coverage
Sports Illustrated ranked it fourth on its list of the top 20 sporting venues of the 20th century, and USA Today referred to it as "the toughest road game in the ACC."
Records at Cameron Indoor Stadium All-Time: 832–154 Coach K: 474–59 Since 1997–98: 266–17 Duke is 179–12 at home since the 2004–05 season, second only to Allen Fieldhouse in winning percentage at home.
Non-conference win streaks
On November 26, 2019, the Duke men's team non-conference home winning streak of 150 games ended with an overtime loss to Stephen F. Austin, 85–83. It had been at that point the longest active non-conference home winning streak in college basketball, with Duke's last non-conference home loss coming against St. John's almost 19 years earlier on February 26, 2000, when the then #2 Blue Devils lost 83–82. The streak was the longest non-conference home win streak in Duke men's basketball history, breaking the previous record, which lasted 95 games, from February 2, 1983 to December 2, 1995, beginning with a 73–71 win over William & Mary and ending with a 65–75 loss to Illinois. Duke is now 274–4 in non-conference home games since 1983, starting with the win over William and Mary, having gone 32–3 in home non-conference games between the original and last winning streak. The only loss other than the Illinois and St. John's losses during that span coming at the hands of Michigan 61–62 on December 8, 1996.
