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That's One Super Pit

Official Review by Tyler Stowe, Stadium Journey Regional Correspondent

The Super Pit earned its nickname because of the way the court is nestled into the building; all the way down at the bottom with the court surrounded by seats above it. Also, the nickname came about for another reason; because of its proximity to the "Snake Pit," which is the former gymnasium. The gym would sometimes flood and snakes would be found in the gym as the water drained out.

The Super Pit was built in 1973 and with a capacity of just over 10,000 fans, it was designed to make the other team feel like they were being trampled by the fans.

Denton is located about 25 miles due north of downtown Dallas and is a quick and easy drive. The campus definitely feels like a small town. There isn't a lot of landscaping, just a whole lot of buildings. With a population, of only 119,454 Denton is a great place for a large university.

Food & Beverage    4

Classic stadium foods are the only things that are really available at an impressively low price. Everything in the regular concession stands is very inexpensive compared to many other stadiums that I have been to. Hot dogs, peanuts, and "gourmet" pretzels are all $3. They have churros (sugar and cinnamon coated bread sticks), which are a first among the stadiums I have been to here in North Texas.

Popcorn is $2 for a small and $3 for a large. They also have candy, bagged chips, and you can even get a whole pickle for $1.25 each. The chili cheese dogs are $4 and the nachos and Frito pies are $3.50. One specialty item that I would recommend is a bag of cinnamon and sugar-glazed almonds, pecans, walnuts, or peanuts ($5/bag).

There is a pretty good beverage selection. Like most college arenas, there are no alcohol sales, but they make up for it. Bottled drinks like water and Gatorade are $3, fountain sodas are $3 for a small (22 oz.) and $4 for a large (32 oz.) and coffee and hot chocolate are available for $2. A specialty drink I found was the Fresh Fruit Smoothies that were $4/$6/$8, depending on the size. They had over ten different combinations you could get.

Atmosphere    5

The energy in this arena was exceedingly high for the entire game. Being the school's home opener against Texas Tech probably had something to do with that. Before the starting lineups were announced, they raised three banners above center court to recognize last year's achievements for winning their conference, conference tournament and making the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

Neighborhood    3

Denton is a nice place to bring the family for a basketball game as long as you keep everyone on the school's campus. Another positive is that everyone on the campus is kind and helpful. Denton is technically in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, but the town itself is just a college town.

Two restaurants that the locals praised, and I tried and would recommend are Central Grill and Pourhouse Sports Grill. They both have great bar food and would be good places to go get a drink after a game. The burgers are also excellent at both places!

Fans    5

The student section (also called The Pit Crew) is absolutely insane- always screaming, chanting, and cheering on their team. They bring energy to the place like none other. The fans are clearly passionate about their team and it's no wonder why they win so often at home. The fans make all the difference, especially in college basketball and it is especially true here at UNT. The Pit Crew tout themselves as being the most loyal and intense fans west of the Appalachians.

Access    3

As I pulled up to the campus, there was so much traffic that it took me a half hour to get off of Interstate 35 to get on campus. If that doesn't tell you how popular their men's basketball program is then I don't know what will.

There are a very limited amount of bathrooms in the stadium and they aren't very clean, but hey, what can you expect from an old stadium like this? Parking is FREE and very accessible from anywhere on the campus. The Super Pit is very easy to find on the campus.

Return on Investment    5

You flat-out just cannot beat the experience that you receive here at UNT for the price. You get a tremendous amount of bang for your buck because you can get lower level seats for $10 and students get in free with a college ID. I don't think that you will find a better place to watch a game in the Sun Belt Conference or even the Dallas/ Fort Worth area.

Extras    3

This place deserves some extras so here they are: There are posters and trophy cases all around the stadium of each team's achievements and it is a great thing to see knowing how much pride the school has in their basketball programs. On the west end of the stadium, there was a whole section for kids with balls, balloons, and even an inflatable jump house. The fans definitely deserve an extra point because of how disruptive and obnoxious they are to the other team and also how encouraging they are for the home team.

Good review! This seems like a really cool experience - I\'m definitely jealous and maybe someday I

Good review! This seems like a really cool experience - I'm definitely jealous and maybe someday I'll get a chance to see a game at the Super Pit.

by dan | Nov 22, 2010 11:44 AM

Hmmm

When I was there about five years ago there were about 1200 fans there. The sparse attendance killed the atmosphere.

by CigarBoy | Mar 22, 2011 07:44 PM

The Super Pit Is Ageless!

The Super Pit opened in 1973 and the amazing thing about this venue to me is how it has maintained such a a modern look even here in 2011. I disagree with the guy on the restrooms as I always found them to be very clean and the floors it seemed to always be freshly waxed.

North Texas hosted the NCAA Regionals 3 times in the 1970's with teams like Michigan, Dean Smith's North Carolina team, Syracuse and many similar schools coming to Denton for that part of the Big Dance.

Though the years North Texas has hosted schools like DePaul when they had Mark Aguire, Denny Crum's Louisville Cardinals back in the day, Guy Lewis' Houston Cougars, Abe Lemons Texas Longhorns, Jim Killingsworth's TCU Horned Frogs and many similar programs with many Hall of Fame coaches.

Largest ever crowd in the Super Pit was when North Texas hosted SMU before 10,700 when Sonny Davis was the 'Stangs coach. It was a great game with North Texas pulling away in the last minutes of that game. Before that game, I remember our then AD and Head Football Coach Hayden Fry removing some banners with some rather disparaging things written on them aimed at SMU. I thought the banners were harmless myself.

Most exciting game I remember was when we beat the Texas Longhorns with one of our Mean Green players tossing up a "Hail Mary" mid court last second winning basket. The Super Pit decibal level after that winning basket was as loud as I ever head at any basketball game--including the Dallas Mavericks.

by BigTex | Dec 17, 2011 08:20 PM

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