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 spectator ...

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 eighth most populous city in the United States ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

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 (MW) in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( ...

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 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 intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

national championship in any sport, at the

1973 NCAA men's volleyball tournament The 1973 NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Championship, NCAA men's volleyball tournament was the fourth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's college volleyball. The tournament took place at Peterson Gym on th ...

(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 and ...

) 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 American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four A ...

(ABA)'s San Diego Conquistadors. 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. 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 an ...

. 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