Tom Gola Arena

Tom Gola Arena
The Tom
Former names	Hayman Hall
Location	1900 West Olney Avenue; Philadelphia, PA 19141
Coordinates	40°02′24″N 75°09′24″W / 40.039993°N 75.15654°WCoordinates: 40°02′24″N 75°09′24″W / 40.039993°N 75.15654°W
Public transit	SEPTA bus: 18, 26
Owner	La Salle University
Operator	La Salle University
Capacity	3,400
Surface	Hardwood
Construction
Broke ground	May 17, 1997
Opened	February 21, 1998
Construction cost	$6.3 million; ($10 million in 2020 dollars)
Architect	EwingCole (Hayman Hall Addition)
Tenants
	La Salle Explorers (men's & women's basketball, women's volleyball)

Tom Gola Arena, The Tom, The Gola, is a 3,400-seat multi-purpose arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania situated inside the TruMark Financial Center. It is home to the La Salle University Explorers men's and women's basketball teams as well as its team. It is named after former Explorers captain and head coach Tom Gola, currently in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The building was opened on February 21, 1998, as the men's basketball team defeated Virginia Tech 74-64.^[2] La Salle's Explorers had not played basketball on campus since leaving Wister Hall in 1955, the season after the 1954 NCAA Championship. The Explorers played at the Palestra from 1955 to 1989, the Philadelphia Civic Center from 1989 to 1996, and the First Union Spectrum from 1996 until the arena opened in 1998. In 2021, the arena was equipped with two working smoke machines.

In Philadelphia's 2016 Summer Olympics bid, the arena was planned to host fencing.^[3]

Tom Gola Arena is located inside the Hayman Center.

References[]

^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "La Salle Men's Basketball 2018-19 Media Guide" (PDF). La Salle University Athletics. 2018. p. 64. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
^ "2016 Olympic venues". Archived from the original on 2006-06-16.

https://defector.com/behold-the-glory-of-the-la-salle-university-smoke-machine/

External links[]

La Salle University Athletics - Tom Gola Arena

This article about a sports venue in Pennsylvania is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

[inflation-US-1] 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.

[Opening-2] "La Salle Men's Basketball 2018-19 Media Guide" (PDF). La Salle University Athletics. 2018. p. 64. Retrieved September 21, 2020.

[3] "2016 Olympic venues". Archived from the original on 2006-06-16.

[2]

[1]

[3]

v t La Salle Explorers men's basketball
Venues	Wister Hall (19??–1955) Palestra (1955–1989) Civic Center (1989–1996) First Union Spectrum (1996–1998) Tom Gola Arena (1998–present) TruMark Financial Center (facilities)
Culture & lore	"" City 6 Philadelphia Big 5 (Robert V. Geasey Trophy) Scandal
People	Statistical leaders
	1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1951–52 1953–54 1954–55 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1991–92 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t Philadelphia Big 5
Schools	La Salle University University of Pennsylvania Saint Joseph's University Temple University Villanova University
Teams	La Salle Explorers Penn Quakers Saint Joseph's Hawks Temple Owls Villanova Wildcats
Arenas	Hagan Arena Liacouras Center Palestra Finneran Pavilion Tom Gola Arena
Related	City 6 Holy War Robert V. Geasey Trophy Saint Joseph's–Temple rivalry Battle of 33rd Street

Tom Gola Arena

See also[]

References[]

External links[]