Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse
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It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Hagan Arena. (Discuss) Proposed since January 2011. |
| Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse | |
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| Location | Saint Joseph's University Philadelphia, PA 19131 |
| Opened | November 11, 1949 |
| Closed | March 6, 2008 (reopened as Hagan Arena in 2009) |
| Owner | Saint Joseph's University |
| Operator | Saint Joseph's University |
| Capacity | 3,200 |
| Tenants | |
| Saint Joseph's Hawks basketball (NCAA Division I) (1949-2008) | |
Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse was a 3,200-seat multi-purpose arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The arena, home to the Saint Joseph's University Hawks basketball opened in 1949 and was inaugurated on November 26 with a loss to the University of Rhode Island. The first women's varsity home game was a loss to Immaculata University on January 17, 1974. The building was dedicated to all college soldier-heroes on its dedication day, Veterans Day 1949.[1]
In addition to serving as an arena for the basketball teams, Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse also contains locker rooms for students, faculty, and other varsity teams, an additional recreation room, squash courts, a swimming pool, and a weight room.
On October 26, 1967, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke to 3,400 people in the Fieldhouse. Today, a bronze plaque in the lobby recognizes his visit.
The Hawks won 34 consecutive games in Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse from the late 1950s through the early 1960s. In the 1980s and 90's, the Fieldhouse served as the practice home for the Philadelphia 76ers.[2] There were over 125 sellouts over the last 15 years the Fieldhouse was open.
The final game at the Fieldhouse was a win over #8 ranked Xavier University on March 5, 2008. The sellout crowd included Hawk legends Jameer Nelson and Jack Ramsay[3].
The Fieldhouse is currently going through extensive renovations and additions, with many sections of the building being razed for expansion purposes. Work began in the Fall of 2007. The final product of the project will add 1,000 seats to the arena, as well as the addition of a new basketball center, concourse, entrance and lobby on 54th and Overbrook and concessions. The renovations will continue through 2009, resulting in the Saint Joseph's men's basketball team playing their home games at the historic Palestra on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, with the women playing on the campus of Philadelphia University. With the reopening, the fieldhouse will be renamed the Michael J. Hagan Arena, in honor of Hagan who donated $10 million to the project. The renovations are expected to cost approximately $25 million.[4]
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Coordinates: 39°59′43″N 75°14′20″W / 39.99528°N 75.23889°W
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