$17 for Two Tickets to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield
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- Exhibits celebrating the game’s history and heroes
- Full-sized court open to visitors
- On-site dining
Although now popular with all shapes and sizes, basketball was originally invented to distract the earth’s giants from thoughts of global domination via sunlight-blocking and ocean-drinking. Celebrate a safer world through slam dunks with today’s Groupon: for $17, you get two tickets for admission to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (up to a $33.98 value), located in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame gives hoop heads an opportunity to celebrate and learn about the game they love, as well as the people who’ve helped make it an international pastime. Peruse interactive exhibits as you wander more than 40,000 square feet, enough space to hold more than 100 years of basketball history or up to seven Shaqs. About 300 inductees occupy the museum’s third-floor Honors Ring, which includes biographical information on the hall’s members and overlooks a full-sized basketball court where visitors can shoot hoops and study the contours of lines painted onto the hardwood. Famished museum-goers can also fuel up at more than half a dozen on-site eateries, from Cold Stone Creamery to Uno Chicago Grill.
Named for James Naismith, the brilliant visionary who invented basketball and, later, the T-shirt cannon, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is a one-of-a-kind resource for hoops historians and an ideal place to satisfy, develop, or sing about a basketball jones. From the exterior, its unusual design is punctuated by a large silver sphere, which represents the meatballs enjoyed in NBA locker rooms before every game.
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About Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Celebrating more than 100 years of basketball history, the halls and exhibits of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame honor the players, coaches, referees, and others who helped the game grow to an internationally beloved sport. There are shrines dedicated to more than 300 Hall of Famers, and the 40,000 square-foot basketball megaplex also houses more than 70 interactive exhibits with audio and video components, limited-run tributes to standout teams and players, and special events. The Hall of Fame provides an outlet for freshly inspired visitors to emulate the giants of the sport: a full-size center court, where they can practice alley-oops and half-court slam dunks or attend clinics taught by players and coaches. On the way back to the car, many guests pause for a photograph next to the towering silver sphere that punctuates the buildings' exterior.
Named for James A. Naismith, the inventor of the sport, the Hall of Fame stands just "a midrange jump shot" from the site of the original game. Played on December 21, 1891, the first contest tallied a final score of one basket to zero, prompting Dr. Naismith to remove the bee's nests from the backboards.