Prior to the construction of Racer Arena, intercollegiate basketball games had been played in the Carr Health Building since 1937.

While Racer Arena's official capacity was 5,550, sellouts were common with the area and more than 6,000 fans packed the stands on numerous occasions.

By the early 1970s, records indicate that the capacity was already seen as insufficient to meet the needs of demand from the campus and community for attendance at varsity basketball games.

[3] Serious discussions of the need to construct a modern area began in 1978 when Ron Greene took over the basketball program, but plans for a new arena wouldn't actually start to become a reality until the early 1990s when funding was finally approved.

[4] Racer Arena remained home to the Murray State men's and women's basketball teams until they moved to the venue now known as CFSB Center in 1998.