Peterson Gymnasium (or Peterson Gym) is a 3,668 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 ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

on the campus of

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

(SDSU). The gym opened in 1961 and currently serves as the home of the

San Diego State Aztecs women's volleyball The San Diego State Aztecs women's volleyball team represents San Diego State University in women's collegiate volleyball. The Aztecs compete in the Mountain West Conference, Mountain West Conference (MW) in Division I (NCAA), Division I of the ...

team. The facility is named after

Charles E. Peterson Charles Emil Peterson (1906–2004) is widely considered to be a seminal figure in professionalizing the practice of historic preservation in the United States. He is referred to as the "founding father" of the professional advocation of historic ...

, who during his 37-year career at San Diego State University served as athletic director, football coach, track coach, basketball coach, Dean of Men and alumni executive secretary. Peterson Gym has been home to several

San Diego State Aztecs The San Diego State Aztecs are the athletic teams that represent San Diego State University (SDSU). San Diego State currently sponsors six men's and eleven women's sports at the varsity level. The Aztecs compete in NCAA Division I ( FBS for foo ...

varsity sports teams over the years, including the now-defunct men's volleyball team (discontinued in 2000), which won San Diego State's first (and-to-date only)

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

national championship in any sport, at the 1973 NCAA men's volleyball tournament (which was hosted by SDSU and played at Peterson Gym). The men's and

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...

teams also played at Peterson Gym until moving across the street to Cox Arena (now known as the

Viejas Arena Viejas Arena (formerly Cox Arena) is the home stadium of the San Diego State Aztecs men's and women's basketball teams. It is located on the San Diego State University (SDSU) campus in San Diego, California. Viejas Arena opened in July 1997 an ...

) upon its opening in 1997. In 1972–73, Peterson Gym was home of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

(ABA)'s

San Diego Conquistadors The San Diego Conquistadors (known as the San Diego Sails in their final, partial season), were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in San Diego. The "Q's", as they were popularly known, played from 1972 to 1975. As the Sails, the ...

. The Conquistadors were coached by

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and prese ...

inductee and

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

great

K.C. Jones K. C. Jones (May 25, 1932 – December 25, 2020) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is best known for his association with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA), with whom he won 11 of his 12 ...

. The team finished with a 30–54 record. Following the season, the team switched its home arena to the

San Diego Sports Arena Pechanga Arena (historically known as the San Diego Sports Arena) is an indoor arena built in 1966 and located in the Midway area of San Diego, California. The arena seats 12,000 for indoor football, 12,920 for ice hockey, indoor soccer and ...

. Today, Peterson Gym also contains some classrooms for lectures.

References

External links

SDSU Athletics Facilities
Defunct college basketball venues in the United States Basketball venues in California Sports venues in San Diego San Diego State Aztecs basketball venues San Diego State Aztecs volleyball College volleyball venues in the United States American Basketball Association venues Volleyball venues in California College basketball venues in the United States 1961 establishments in California Sports venues completed in 1961 {{California-stadium-stub