Considered as a "magnificent structure for its day", the Field House was home to Iowa's basketball and wrestling teams and included an indoor track and swimming pool.

[4] Entirely funded by private contributions, the arena was expected to be open for the 1982–83 school year, but weather slowed construction to the point where the first event was held on January 3, 1983.

The arena also serves as the site of commencement exercises for several of the university's colleges, and has hosted concerts by artists such as U2, Whitney Houston, Stevie Nicks, *NSYNC, Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Old Dominion, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, and speeches by Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton as well as Desmond Tutu and Jane Goodall.

On December 6, 2008, Iowa set the national collegiate wrestling dual meet attendance record as 15,955 fans packed the arena for Iowa-Iowa State match.

Barry Davis, Tom Brands, Brent Metcalf, Tony Ramos, and Spencer Lee are the only Hawkeye wrestlers to never lose a match during their college career in Carver–Hawkeye Arena.