UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, originally known as A.J. Palumbo Center, 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 ...

in the Uptown area of

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

served by exits on both

Interstate 376 Interstate 376 (I-376) is a major auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System in the US state of Pennsylvania, located within the Allegheny Plateau. It runs from I-80 near Sharon south and east to a junction with the Pennsylvania T ...

and

Interstate 579 Interstate 579 (I-579) is a north–south Interstate Highway entirely within Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The highway is long. I-579 is also known as the Crosstown Boulevard since it crosses the backside of Downtown Pittsburgh. The northern term ...

. The arena originally opened in 1988, and is part of

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit , image = Holy Gh ...

. It is home to both the Duquesne Dukes

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

programs.

History

The facility was originally known as the A.J. Palumbo Center. It was named in honor of its benefactor, Antonio J. Palumbo, who was elected to the Duquesne University board of directors and, in 1987, received an honorary doctorate of Business and Administration from Duquesne.

Early renovations

In 2006, the Palumbo Center underwent major renovations. In addition to resurfacing the basketball court, upgrading video monitors, and replacing some seating sections, the facility was updated and renovated to include: *New men's and women's basketball staff offices *Recruiting suite *Video breakdown room *Strength and conditioning facilities *Athletic trainer facilities The center housed the administrative offices for the athletic department and facility management. The center was also open to intramural sports and other recreation groups; however, in 2007, Duquesne University completed a new five-story recreational facility on Forbes Ave. near the A.J. Palumbo Center, which was-then the primary facility for recreational sports and activities. After the 2009-2010 basketball season, Duquesne University began further renovations on the Palumbo Center. A new center-hung scoreboard was installed as well as new corner scoreboards. In addition, then-current bleacher seating on the north end of the arena was replaced with permanent stadium chairs. The University also received $1.8 million in private donations to upgrade the locker rooms for the men's and women's basketball teams and the volleyball team. It was called the James and Janice Schaming Athletic Center, named after the largest donor.

UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse Renovation

The most extensive renovation began immediately after the 2018–19 basketball season. The project was completed at the start of the 2020–21 school year and the arena was renamed the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The new name stems from a partnership between the

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is a $23billion integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 92,000 employees, 40 hospitals with more than 8,000 licensed beds, 800 clinical locations including outpatient sites and d ...

and the family foundation of late Duquesne star Chuck Cooper, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

selected in an NBA draft. Renovations include new seating, enhanced concession areas, two high-definition video boards, and a new scorer's table and sound system. The facility also houses the Folino Sports Performance Center featuring nearly 10,000 square feet of training equipment, sports performance labs, a nutrition center for all student-athletes, and the Joe and Kathy Guyaux Player Development Center which includes two regulation practice basketball courts. The original Palumbo name was transferred to the main entrance and atrium area of the renovated facility. During the renovations, the Dukes split home games between the

UPMC Events Center UPMC Events Center is an indoor arena located in the Pittsburgh suburb of Moon, Pennsylvania as a part of Robert Morris University, replacing the old Charles L. Sewall Center. The UPMC Events Center is the new home of the Robert Morris Colonia ...

Robert Morris University Robert Morris University (RMU) is a private university in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1921 and is named after Robert Morris, known as the "financier of the mericanrevolution." It enrolls nearly 5,000 students and offers 60 b ...

PPG Paints Arena PPG Paints Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Pittsburgh, that serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). It previously was the home of the Pittsburgh Power of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2 ...

, and the Kerr Fitness Center at La Roche University. The first game played in the renovated UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse was a 69–64 victory over

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

Sports

Prior to the building of the facility, the men's basketball team played games at various sites around the city, including

Pittsburgh Civic Arena The Civic Arena, formerly the Civic Auditorium and later Mellon Arena, was an arena located in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Civic Arena primarily served as the home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the city's National Hockey League (NHL) ...

(their exclusive home from 1964 to 1988, and used for occasional big games until 2009),

Fitzgerald Field House Fitzgerald Field House is a 4,122-seat multi-purpose athletic venue on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Fitzgerald Field House is named for Rufus Fitzgerald, a past chancellor (1945–195 ...

, and

Duquesne Gardens The Duquesne Gardens (officially Duquesne Garden until 1940 and The Gardens afterward) was the main sports arena located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the first half of the 20th century. Built in 1890, the building originally served as a tr ...

, as well as several high school gymnasiums. The first men's basketball game was played in the arena on December 3, 1988, in which Duquesne defeated St. Joseph's 73–69. As of January 2008, Duquesne men's basketball had 132-125 (.514) all-time record at the Palumbo Center. The facility is used for most major sports at Duquesne, and has played host to NIT games, WNIT games, high school post season championships, national wrestling championships, and

Atlantic 10 The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...

tournament competitions. During the 1994-95 basketball season, the Palumbo Center was the home of the Continental Basketball Association's Pittsburgh Piranhas. In the team's lone season in Pittsburgh, the Piranhas lost to the Yakima Sun Kings in the 1995 CBA finals. The new Consol Energy Center, now known as

, is now the home to the annual

Pitt Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facu ...

-Duquesne Dukes

City Game The City Game is an annual college basketball game between the University of Pittsburgh Panthers and the Duquesne University Dukes. The term "City Game" is also used refer to women's basketball games played annually between the two universities ...

as well as basketball games of regional interest, such as a men's game played on December 12, 2010 between the

West Virginia Mountaineers The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University, an American university located in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I. The Mou ...

and Duquesne. UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse is also home to the women's volleyball team and hosted the Atlantic 10 Championship in 2012, won by Temple. For their 2017–18 season and part of the 2018–19 season, the arena served as the home of the Robert Morris Colonials men's basketball team for four games while renovations to the

were taking place.

References

External links