Walter Pyramid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Walter Pyramid, formerly known as the Long Beach Pyramid, is the on-campus basketball and volleyball arena for the NCAA college basketball and college volleyball teams of Long Beach State University 49ers. Finished in 1994, it is located in Long Beach, California. It is a large pyramid-shaped building, uniformly clad in sheets of dark blue corrugated aluminum; it seats 5,000 spectators.
The Southern California Summer Pro League uses the Pyramid during July. The league is a showcase for current and prospective NBA basketball players, including recent draft picks, current NBA players working on their skills and conditioning, and international professionals hoping to become NBA players.
[edit] History
Before the Walter Pyramid was built on campus, the Long Beach State basketball team played some of their games in the Long Beach Sports Arena in downtown Long Beach, and some on-campus at the Gold Mine, which has just 1,900 seats.
The arena opened for its first 49er basketball game on November 30, 1994. In that game, which was televised on ESPN, the 49ers defeated the University of Detroit Mercy, with a final score of 71-64 before a standing room only crowd of 5,021.
The Pyramid was home to the Long Beach Stingrays, a women's professional basketball team of the now-defunct American Basketball League for a time in 1997-98.
The Walter Pyramid was designed by Don Gibbs and built by the Nielson Construction of San Diego. The building of The Walter Pyramid cost approximately $22 million USD. It is named for Mike and Arline Walter, supporters of California State University, Long Beach.[1]
[edit] Facts about The Walter Pyramid
Each side of the perimeter of The Walter Pyramid measures 345 feet, making it a mathematically true pyramid. There is a Frog's Gym and a conference center located in The Walter Pyramid.
