John Lance Arena is a 3,500 seat multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

Pittsburg, Kansas Pittsburg is a city in Crawford County, Kansas, United States, located in southeast Kansas near the Missouri state border. It is the most populous city in Crawford County and southeast Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the ci ...

. It was built in 1971 and saw its first game played on December 4, 1971. It is the home of the

Pittsburg State University Pittsburg State University (Pitt State or PSU) is a public university in Pittsburg, Kansas. It enrolls approximately 7,400 students (6,000 undergraduates and 1,400 graduate students) and is a member of the Kansas Board of Regents. History P ...

Gorillas

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

teams. The arena was named after John F. Lance, (1897 to 1981), educator and head basketball coach at PSU from 1923 until 1963. Lance led the team to win 47 consecutive games between 1929 and 1932, the longest winning streak in college basketball history until 1956. When John Lance retired in 1963 after 41 seasons, he was one of only five coaches in the nation with over 600 career wins—a total of 656 wins. Lance was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Hall of Fame, the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame and the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. The Gorillas truly have built a decisive home court advantage in John Lance Arena by posting a 158-48 (.767) record on the court in 15 seasons under head coach Gene Iba. Pittsburg State won a school record 40 straight games in "The Pitt", before losing 76–74 to Truman State University in the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament on February 24, 1999. The Pittsburg State University campus and Pittsburg community have rallied behind the Gorillas to help them rank among the top 30 schools in NCAA Division II for home-court attendance in 10 of the last 12 seasons. The Pitt State men's basketball team has averaged 2,004 fans in their last 164 home games and 2,433 fans in their 111 MIAA home games (regular season & post season) in the last 12 years.

References

Indoor arenas in Kansas College basketball venues in the United States Sports venues in Kansas Buildings and structures in Pittsburg, Kansas Basketball venues in Kansas Pittsburg State University {{Kansas-stadium-stub