Ten years?

You're kidding me, right?

I could swear it was just last week that I stood on a patch of dirt — surrounded by concrete walls, engulfed by the din of construction equipment — and tried to envision what the Kohl Center would look like when it was built.

Al Fish, then an associate athletic director for the University of Wisconsin, was standing next to me. He said we were right at where midcourt, and center ice, would be. He did a slow, prideful pirouette, describing the unique, cantilevered upper deck and pointing out where the private boxes and other amenities would be.

Fish, now the UW vice chancellor for facilities, planning and management, insisted Badgers fans would get their money's worth out of the $76.4 million facility, built at the corner of Dayton and Frances streets.

He was right.

Fish said Sen Herb Kohl — whose $25 million donation got the project off the ground — would be proud to have his name on it.

Right again.

Truth be told, the Kohl Center probably has given us more than we ever bargained for since it opened for business Jan. 17, 1998.

There have been 4,000-plus events there with a cumulative attendance of approximately 6.5 million. We've seen opposite ends of moral and cultural spectrum there: the Dalai Lama and Britney Spears.

We've seen some of the greatest tacticians of all-time at work there: Bob Knight, Pat Summitt and Ron Mason are the all-time winningest coaches in NCAA Division I men's basketball, women's basketball and men's hockey history, respectively.

We've seen a remarkable collection of young talent there: More than 80 players chosen in the first round of the NBA, NHL and WNBA drafts. That includes four No. 1 overall picks in Greg Oden in the NBA, Erik Johnson and Patrick Kane in the NHL and Janel McCarville in the WNBA.

We've seen school history made by UW student-athletes there: Alando Tucker became the all-time leading scorer for men's basketball and Sara Bauer for women's hockey, with Jolene Anderson on deck for the same distinction in women's basketball.

We've seen school history made by UW programs there: The men's basketball team won consecutive Big Ten Conference titles, while the men's and women's basketball had their winningest seasons ever.

We've had a chance to celebrate the unprecedented there: UW became the first school in NCAA Division I history to win men's and women's hockey titles in the same season.

We've seen it become a fortress for the UW men's basketball team: The Badgers are 101-6 there during the Bo Ryan coaching era.

We've seen it become a gem for the UW men's hockey team: The Badgers have led the NCAA in attendance every season they've played in the Kohl Center, including a record 14,430 fans per game during the 2006-07 season.

It's where Al McGuire, the iconic late Marquette coach, did his last TV broadcast of a men's college basketball game.

It's where unprecedented NCAA events have taken place: Long Beach State won the NCAA title in 1998 and became the first women's volleyball team to finish a season unbeaten (36-0).

It's where thousands of students have been welcomed as freshmen and celebrated as graduates.

It's where so many milestone moments are frozen in time: UW fans rushing the floor when the men's basketball team clinched its first Big Ten title since 1947; the women's hockey team beating Harvard in four overtimes en route to a second straight NCAA title; two epic overtime wins over North Dakota in men's hockey on the way to winning the MacNaughton Cup; Devin Harris draining a free throw with 0.4 seconds left to beat Illinois and clinch a second straight Big Ten crown.

The list goes on.

It's where we've heard Petty and Mellencamp sing, the UW Marching Band perform and watched the ageless Mike Leckrone fly.

It's where good times have been had and many, many more are expected in the years to come.

But 10 years?

You're kidding me, right?

Contact Andy Baggot at abaggot@madison.com or 608-252-6175.