The Palestra
| "The Cathedral of College Basketball" | |
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| Location | 235 S 33rd St Philadelphia, PA 19104 |
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| Owner | University of Pennsylvania |
| Operator | University of Pennsylvania |
| Capacity | 8,725 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1926 |
| Opened | January 1, 1927 |
| Architect | Charles Klauder |
| Tenants | |
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Penn Quakers (basketball, volleyball & wrestling) (1927–present) Philadelphia Big 5 Basketball (La Salle, Penn, Saint Joseph's, Temple, Villanova) (1955–present) Saint Joseph's Hawks (basketball) (2008–2009) |
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The Palestra, often called the Cathedral of College Basketball, is a historic arena and the home gym of the University of Pennsylvania Quakers men's and women's basketball teams, volleyball teams, wrestling team, and Philadelphia Big 5 basketball. Located at 235 South 33rd St. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, near Franklin Field in the University City section of Philadelphia, it opened on January 1, 1927. The Palestra has been called "the most important building in the history of college basketball" and "changed the entire history of the sport for which it was built."
The arena originally seated about 10,000, but now seats 8,725 for basketball. The Palestra is famed for its close-to-the-court seating with the bleachers ending at the floor with no barrier to separate the fans from the game.
At the time of its construction, the Palestra was one of the world's largest arenas. It was one of the first steel-and-concrete arenas in the United States and also one of the first to be constructed without interior pillars blocking the view.
Since its inception, the Palestra has hosted more games, more visiting teams, and more NCAA tournaments than any other facility in college basketball.
The building was completed in 1927 and named by Greek professor William N. Bates after the ancient Greek term palæstra, a rectangular enclosure attached to a gymnasium where athletes would compete in various sports in front of an audience. Penn's Palestra was built adjacent to and today is connected to Hutchinson Gymnasium.
The Palestra hosted its first basketball game on January 1, 1927. Pennsylvania defeated Yale 26-15 before a capacity crowd of 10,000, then the largest crowd ever to attend a basketball game on the East Coast.
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