Women's hockey practices and competes in the 2,273-seat facility, while men's hockey practices in the arena. The arena is connected to the Kohl Center, where the men's hockey team plays, by an underground tunnel and the Nicholas Recreation Center, where the swimming and diving programs practice, by a skywalk.
About the Arena
The official groundbreaking ceremony for the LaBahn Arena took place on Wednesday, May 11, 2011. The building was turned over to the UW athletic program on Oct. 1, 2012. The building dedication and first game was Oct. 19, 2012, when the Wisconsin women's hockey team hosted Bemidji State. The total cost of the project was $27.9 million, with two-thirds of the cost coming from gifts to UW Athletics and the remainder coming from bonding.
Major Benefactors
LaBahn Arena is named after Charles (UW-Madison '49) and Mary Ann LaBahn, the lead donors for the project. Chuck LaBahn, a two-time letterwinner for the Badger swimming team, has been a longtime supporter of various campus initiatives. He has helped to fund projects in Athletics, the School of Business, the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the School of Education and the Law School.
LaBahn, who served as director of the UW Foundation from 1974-96 and as chairman of the Wisconsin Alumni Association in 1988-89, won the 1988 Pat O'Dea Award for service to UW Athletics. He is also a winner of the University of Wisconsin Alumni Club of Milwaukee's Distinguished Service Award.
The name of the ice sheet at LaBahn Arena is the "Lance Johnson Memorial Rink" in recognition of a major gift to UW Athletics from Peter O. Johnson and his son, Erik S. Johnson, and their families. Lance Johnson was Peter's son and Erik's brother. Lance was an avid and accomplished Madison area youth hockey player before dying in a car accident as a teenager in 1987.
2012 LaBahn Arena and Kohl Center Remodel Project
Peter Johnson (UW-Madison BBA '61) founded Madison-based Hy Cite Corporation in 1959. The company has become one of the leaders and innovators in direct sales, internationally distributing the popular Royal Prestige brand of cookware and related products.
Erik (UW-Madison EMBA '97) currently serves as Chairman and CEO of Hy Cite Corporation. He has continued the legacy of philanthropy established by his father and supports a number of causes in the Madison area including the United Way and Edgewood High School. Also members of the University of Wisconsin Bascom Hill Society and the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics' Camp Randall Society, Erik and his wife, Amy, have contributed generously to the UW Athletics annual fund and a number of athletic facility campaigns over the past decade.
Women's Hockey
LaBahn Arena is a first class hockey facility that gives the seven-time national champion Wisconsin women's hockey teams one of the best venues in the nation. With a capacity of 2,273 people, the arena has an exciting environment during games. The coaching staff at Wisconsin has an eagle-eye view of the ice at LaBahn Arena as their offices overlook the ice.
The hockey locker rooms have a player lounge that features leather couches and flat screen TVs. In addition to its normal locker room, the players have a separate changing room. The student-athletes can study for their next opponent in a theater-style film room.
The arena also has therapy pools which help the players after practices and games. The hockey players also have their own athletic training room and doctor's office in the arena.
Swimming and Diving
The men's and women's swimming and diving teams also call LaBahn Arena home, as their team lounge and locker rooms, as well as their physical therapy amenities are all housed on the second level of the facility.
The locker rooms are conveniently located on the south end of the facility. A walkway connects the team's facility to the Soderholm Family Aquatic Center, in the Nicholas Recreation Center, allowing the team to easily commute back and forth from their practice venue to the locker room area, before and after practices and meetings.
The team lounge is complete with flat screen TVs, a sports drink dispenser, plush couches and chairs and an incredible view of downtown.
Check List of Team and Fan Amenities
La Bahn Arena is a tri-level complex that includes the following:
- 90' by 200' ice sheet for men's and women's hockey practice and women's competition, with seating for 2,273 spectators
- Men's and women's hockey team locker rooms and a visiting team locker room
- Women's hockey office suite and associated support spaces
- Locker and team room functions for the men's and women's swimming programs
- Underground connection to the Kohl Center
- Relocation of the men's basketball locker suite to space vacated by the men's hockey locker suite at the Kohl Center; expansion of training room facilities, and expansion of laundry/equipment-issue facilities to accommodate the additional occupants of the complex
