📍 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
🏀 Home of Penn Quakers basketball

The sport’s original cathedral, The Palestra has hosted more games than any other venue in college basketball and is the home of the Penn Quakers. It has been the epicenter of Philly sports since it opened in 1927, with its unique construction and intimidating seating arrangement forever altering the trajectory of American sports arena design.

Built with more than 10,000 fans in mind, The Palestra pioneered the idea of pushing the bleachers to the edge of the baselines, creating the type of on-top-of-the-court pressure that has since been made common across college hoops. At the time of its opening, it was one of the largest sports venues in the world, and a capacity crowd packed the rafters for its inaugural event. The Quakers emerged victorious in the building’s first-ever game, a 26-15 win over Yale on New Year’s Day in 1927.

What does “Palestra” mean?
The venue was given its unique moniker by a professor at Penn named William N. Bates, who took inspiration from the ancient Greek term palæstra, a type of wrestling annex at antiquity-era gymnasiums.

For close to 70 years, The Palestra was also the primary host of tournaments between the Big 5, an agglomeration of Philly’s five – now six – DI colleges. In addition to these special events, La Salle, St. Joseph’s and Temple all used the arena as permanent home at one point.

Display cases highlighting all of Philly’s basketball legacy make up only a small part of the extensive museum-like exhibits that lines the walls of the gym. Other panels cover the accomplishments of each of Penn’s athletic programs, The Palestra through the decades and standout players from the Ivy League – among a plethora of memorabilia and old photos that immerse visitors into Philadelphia sports history.

The venue’s incredible architecture is also striking, with a brick-clad exterior that seems befitting for a chapel, and large bay windows on all four sides of the building that allow diffused natural light to seep in during the day.

Despite not really filling to the brim for Penn games these days, The Palestra still features some of the best acoustics in college basketball, thanks primarily to its arched roof. Beneath the canopy, it’s mostly bleacher seating – though some chairbacks have been installed closer to the court.

Although its heyday may have passed, The Palestra remains one of the most venerable facilities in sports. A bucket list gem nestled on the west bank of Schuylkill River, this palace bleeds college basketball tradition and excellence – the progenitor of the modern game.