Stabler Arena is named for Donald B. Stabler, a 1930 Lehigh graduate, founder of Stabler Companies Inc., and a member of the university's Board of Trustees for over 30 years. He and his wife, Dorothy, were the primary donors for the facility.[1]
The arena officially opened with Lehigh's Commencement Exercises on May 29, 1979, replacing Taylor Gymnasium, which had hosted Lehigh athletics since 1914. Its first public event was Holiday on Ice in November later that same year.[2]
December 27, 1982: Billy Joel on his tour supporting The Nylon Curtain album. This appearance was notable as Joel's song "Allentown" was a big hit at that time, and Stabler Arena was the largest venue in the Lehigh Valley.
October 21, 1987: Whitney Houston; the music video for her 1987 single "So Emotional" was filmed during the concert.
November 9, 1993: Nirvana, in one of lead singer's Kurt Cobain's final performances prior to his suicide five months later, on April 5, 1994.
February 11, 2007: Breaking Benjamin filmed their entire concert there, which was released in April 2007 in the collectors edition CD and DVD that accompanied release of Phobia, the band's album.
Renovations and upgrades
In the fall of 2016, brand new LED video boards measuring 10 feet (3.0 m) tall and 17 feet (5.2 m) wide were installed in two corners of the arena. A new LED scorer's table was added, along with two new competition baskets with three-sided shot clocks, and two fixed digit scoreboards were installed in time for the start of the 2016-17 basketball season. The arena also debuted a new baseline club, a court-level area behind one of the baskets that features high-top tables.
In the summer of 2017, the arena received a new basketball floor.[2]
