Lundholm Gymnasium - New Hampshire Wildcats
- Paul Baker
- Dec 7, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: Dec 8, 2025
Photos by Paul Baker, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 2.57
Lundholm Gymnasium
145 Main St
Durham, NH 03824
Year Opened: 1938 Capacity: 2,500
Granite State Hoops
The University of New Hampshire is the flagship of the university system of New Hampshire. UNH is comprised of 11 colleges and graduate schools offering 2,000 courses in 100 majors. Founded in 1866 as an agricultural school in conjunction with Dartmouth College, the university moved to its current site in Durham in 1893. Today, the school boasts an enrollment of almost 15,000 students.
Lundholm Gymnasium is named for Carl Lundholm, a University of New Hampshire graduate and athletic director at the school from 1939 to 1963. The gym is located inside the Field House, adjacent to Wildcat Stadium , and serves as home to both the men's and women's basketball teams, the volleyball team, and the gymnastics team.
The court at Lundholm Gymnasium is dedicated to Gerry Friel, who served as head coach for the men’s basketball team from 1969-1989. The New England Basketball Hall of Famer was the school’s all-time leader in victories with 188 until Bill Herrion passed Friel’s mark during the 2019-20 season.
Basketball has been played at the University of New Hampshire since 1903. The school began sponsoring a women’s basketball team in 1981. Members of the America East conference, neither the men’s nor women’s team has ever qualified for the NCAA tournament.
Food & Beverage 2
There is a small concession stand in the Field House lobby that serves a limited menu for Wildcat fans needing a snack during the game. Hot dogs, nachos, and assorted snacks make up the entire menu. The positive to this small snack bar is its value, as no item costs more than five dollars.
Coca-Cola products are featured at Lundholm Gymnasium. A new addition to the game day atmosphere here is the Lundholm Loft, a private area available to all fans at a cost of $20 per game. This area, which overlooks the north end of the court, features a buffet, lounge areas, and a private bar. Several outstanding local craft beers are available for purchase here, including brews from Stone Face, Decidious, and Tuckerman breweries.
Atmosphere 2
Lundholm Gymnasium definitely gives off old-school vibes from the moment you enter the lobby. Those vibes continue throughout the game, but the UNH staff put on a good show with the limited resources they have. Stadium Journey’s most recent visit occurred during finals week, so there was not much of a turnout from the student body, but based on our past visits, this is not really much of a departure from the norm.
The cheerleading and dance teams were here, performing from their respective baselines throughout the games, but they do not take the floor during play stoppages. The pep band was not present on the night of Stadium Journey's visit. There are games for younger fans during breaks, such as a dizzy bat shooting contest.
The sound system is good, and the staff tries to make player introductions exciting by dimming the lights and using strobe lights, but there’s only so much you can do in an old gym like Lundholm. The PA announcer does his best to add some energy to the proceedings without being too over the top.
Banners honoring Wildcat tournament and championship teams in basketball, volleyball, and gymnastics hang on the Lundholm Gymnasium walls. There are scoreboards on either end of the gym that display basic game statistics.
Neighborhood 3
The University of New Hampshire dominates the small town of Durham. The university is located just west of downtown on Main Street, less than a mile from the gym. Durham has a nice, small-town college feel to it, and there are a few places worth checking out for a bite to eat if you are visiting here from out of town. Students regularly pack Libby’s Bar and Grill or Durham House of Pizza for a pre- or post-game meal. Fans looking to stay in town will not find many options, with a Holiday Inn Express and Three Chimneys Inn being the extent of the choices.
Fans visiting UNH from out of town will often head east to Portsmouth, located just 11 miles from Lundholm Gymnasium. Portsmouth features a picturesque, walkable downtown with numerous quaint shops and excellent restaurants. Since there are not many lodging options in Durham, head to Portsmouth for more choices.
Boston is about an hour’s drive south on I-95. The White Mountains are located just a ninety-minute drive north of Durham and feature spectacular foliage in the fall and many outstanding ski resorts in the winter.
Fans 2
The Wildcats typically do not draw big crowds to basketball games at Lundhold Gymnasium. For the 2024-2025 season, their announced attendance was 448 fans per game. Although there is some variability from year to year, this is pretty consistent with previous seasons. Stadium Journey visited Durham on a chilly December night during finals week with a crowd of 469 in attendance.
A typical crowd at a UNH basketball game is made up mostly of locals, with a good amount of families here taking advantage of the affordability of a Wildcat hoops game. This is definitely a family-friendly place to be. You’ll find a few students here taking in the action, but there is no organized student section to speak of.
Access 3
Durham is a small town with a population of almost 15,500, located fifteen minutes west of Portsmouth and an hour north of Boston. The town is easy to reach via car, as it is located just off of Interstate 95 and Route 4. The University of New Hampshire dominates the town of Durham, with the campus straddling Main Street. Lundholm Gymnasium is located on the western edge of campus, adjacent to Wildcat Stadium and across the street from Whittemore Center. Most fans will park across the street from the Field House in Lot A and arrive at the facility via a tunnel that passes underneath Main Street.
For fans relying on public transportation, UNH provides several shuttles and buses that serve various campus points and travel to Dover and Portsmouth. A complete schedule of routes can be found here. The local Amtrak station is located across the street from the Field House, with trains that serve Boston, New York, and beyond.
The Field House is the hub of New Hampshire athletics, as it contains the department’s administrative offices, Swazey Pool, gymnastics training room, the Paul Sweet Oval, and Reggie Atkins Track. Fans coming here for basketball games will enter a small lobby that contains the ticket booths, concession stand, restrooms, and UNH photo gallery. Lundholm Gymnasium will be directly in front of you as you enter.
Seating inside Lundholm Gymnasium consists of molded bleachers without backs on either side of the court. There are no seats at the ends of the court. With the small size of the gym, all seats feature excellent views of the action.
Return on Investment 4
Going to a Wildcat basketball game is an affordable entertainment option for New Hampshire sports fans. Tickets are sold as general admission for $23. Seniors and youth are admitted for $17. Courtside tickets can be purchased for $35. Parking in Lot A across the street from the Field House is free, and all the items on the concessions menu are priced under five dollars.
Extras 2
When visiting Lundholm Gymnasium, be sure to take a walk around the Field House and check out the photos of every single varsity program to ever represent the university. Not just championship teams, but every single squad. Every sport, every year. It’s an impressive gallery.
Hidden amongst these pictures of thousands of young men and women are a hockey Hall of Famer (Rod Langway, class of ’79), a baseball Hall of Famer who went to UNH on a basketball scholarship (Carlton Fisk, class of ’63) and a hockey player who is best known as an actor who played a hockey player (Michael Ontkean, class of ’70, a.k.a. Ned Braden from the cult classic Slap Shot). Also, check out the women’s hockey teams from 1977-92, where coach Russ McCurdy would pose for the annual team photo holding his cat.
Final Thoughts
New Hampshire is one of those northeast schools where hockey is king and hoops are an afterthought. The quaint, old-timey nature of Lundholm Gymnasium reflects the university’s attitude towards basketball. Stepping into Lundholm is almost like stepping back in time. If you like your hoops presented simply, you’ll love visiting UNH.
Comments