-
F&M Bank Arena
Located in the heart of downtown Clarksville, the state-of-the-art F&M Bank Arena is home to Austin Peay men’s and women’s basketball, opening prior to the 2023-24 seasons.
The 250,000-square-foot complex is owned by Montgomery County and operated by the Nashville Predators and Sabretooth Sports & Entertainment, LLC, with Austin Peay serving as the facility’s primary tenant after signing a 30-year lease in Oct. 2020. F&M Bank arena replaced the Winfield Dunn Center, which was the home of Governors’ basketball from Dec. 1975 to March 2023.
F&M Bank Arena houses the Austin Peay’s men’s and women’s basketball coaching offices which overlooks the team’s shared practice gym featuring 11 hoops, a scoreboard, shot clock, and state-of-the-art sound system.
Another substantial improvement in the Governors’ move to F&M Bank Arena is the locker rooms. After entering either team’s locker room area, one is met with a lounge area consisting of TVs, game consoles, and couches. Connected to the main lounge area is a coaches’ meeting room, a team film room consistent of theatre seating and a drop-down movie screen, and each team’s new-fashioned locker room ornamented by conference championship trophies and nets cut down throughout each program’s storied history.
In the main arena bowl, F&M Bank Arena has a capacity of 5,500 for basketball games, and the surface also can be transitioned to host 6,000 for concerts and 5,000 ice hockey games.
The court at F&M Bank Arena largely resembles the Govs’ former playing surface, with the ‘Govs Tennessee Mark’ highlighting center court, followed by a black key consisting of the ASUN Conference logo. Each baseline also is decorated with a white “Austin Peay” wordmark inside the predominantly red apron.
In June 2023, Austin Peay Athletics and Gary Mathews Automotive Group entered a multi-year, $1.2 million sponsorship agreement for the naming rights of “Gary Mathews Court” at F&M Bank Arena.
Austin Peay, the Nashville Predators, and Clarksville-Montgomery County broke ground on F&M Bank Arena in Nov. 2020. The ceremony was celebrated by Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett, Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts, Austin Peay Vice President and Director of Athletics Gerald Harrison, and Nashville Predators Vice President Danny Butler breaking ground at the previously named Montgomery County Multi-Purpose Event Center.
In addition to the main arena bowl having the ability to transform to an ice surface, F&M Bank Arena also is home to Middle Tennessee’s Ford Ice Center of Clarksville which offers public skate lessons, hosts youth and adult hockey leagues, and more.
F&M Bank Arena held its Grand Opening Celebration July 15, 2023.
The men’s and women’s basketball teams combined for 22 wins during their inaugural seasons at F&M Bank Arena which are tied for the fifth most between the two teams since the turn of the century.
The men’s basketball team went 14-3 during their first season on Gary Mathews Court at F&M Bank Arena, which are tied for the most in program history and matches a 14-0 mark during the 2019-20 and 2002-03 seasons. It also tied for the most home wins in the ASUN during that season.
The men also captured the first-ever win in the new facility in a 90-72 victory against Life, Nov. 6, 2023. They then won their first home Atlantic Sun Conference win in the facility in an 83-80 win against North Alabama, Jan. 18, 2024.
The Governors then captured the first-ever postseason victory in F&M Bank Arena during a 101-98 win against No. 5 North Florida, March 5, 2024 during the ASUN Championship Quarterfinals, and followed it with a 77-71 win against No. 6 North Alabama in the ASUN Semifinals, marking the program’s 12th home win in its last 13 home games.
The women’s basketball team captured eight home wins during its first season at F&M Bank Arena – marking its ninth-straight season with a .500-or-better home winning percentage.
Their first win came in a 72-64 victory against Fisk, Dec. 14, 2023, while their first home ASUN win came in a 65-63 win against Bellarmine, Jan. 4, 2024.
