Knapp Center

The Knapp Center is a 7,152-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was built in 1992, and is the home of the Drake Bulldogs. The first Drake Bulldogs basketball game was played on December 5, 1992.The namesake of the arena comes from William Knapp, who is the chairman of Iowa Realty and a member of the Drake University Board of Trustees. He played a key role in financing the arena with $3 million gift towards construction.After receiving a donation from Hy-Vee, the court was named in honor of Des Moines East graduate, Drake alum, and the former Hy-Vee CEO Ron Pearson as "Ron Pearson Court" on September 18, 2010.