Tom Gola Arena

Tom Gola Arena
The Gola
Former names	Hayman Hall
Location	1900 West Olney Avenue; Philadelphia, PA 19141
Coordinates	40°02′24″N75°09′24″W / 40.039993°N 75.15654°W
Public transit	SEPTA bus: 18, 26
Owner	La Salle University
Operator	La Salle University
Capacity	3,400
Surface	Hardwood
Construction
Broke ground	May 17, 1997
Opened	February 21, 1998
Closed	March 3, 2024
Demolished	March - April, 2024
Construction cost	$6.3 million; ($11.8 million in 2023 dollars)
Architect	EwingCole (Hayman Hall Addition)
Tenants
	La Salle Explorers (men's basketball, women's basketball)

Last updated November 13, 2024

Tom Gola Arena (also known as The Tom or The Gola) was a 3,400-seat multi-purpose arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania situated inside the TruMark Financial Center. It was home to the La Salle University Explorers men's and women's basketball teams.

History

The building was opened on February 21, 1998, with the men's basketball team defeating Virginia Tech 74–64.^[1] La Salle had not played basketball on campus since leaving Wister Hall in 1955, the season after winning the 1954 NCAA Championship. The Explorers played at the Palestra from 1955 to 1989, the Philadelphia Civic Center from 1989 to 1996, and the First Union Spectrum from 1996 until the arena opened in 1998. The arena hosted its final game on March 2nd, 2024, with the men’s basketball team defeating George Washington 72-66.

In Philadelphia's 2016 Summer Olympics bid, the arena was planned to host fencing.^[3]

In 2021, Adam Sandler used the Tom Gola Arena to film the Netflix movie Hustle .^[4] The arena was also equipped with two working smoke machines.^[5]

In 2023, it was announced that the 23-24 season would be the last season the Explorers played in the Tom Gola Arena. Plans for a renovated arena were announced, rotating the court to allow for a bowl style arena. The Tom Gola namesake would be changed to John Glaser Arena, after his donation for the renovations.^[6]

Gallery

Tom Gola Arena is located inside the TruMark Financial Center

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References

1 2 "La Salle Men's Basketball 2018-19 Media Guide" (PDF). La Salle University Athletics. November 18, 2018. p. 64. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
↑ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–" . Retrieved February 29, 2024.
↑ "2016 Olympic venues". Archived from the original on 2006-06-16.
↑ "Adam Sandler Films Movie Scene At La Salle University - CBS Philadelphia". www.cbsnews.com. 2021-09-10. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
↑ McQuade, Dan (December 8, 2021). "Behold The Glory Of The La Salle University Smoke Machine". Defector Media.
↑ "La Salle University Unveils Basketball Arena Renovation Project". La Salle University Athletics. 2024-10-14. Retrieved 2024-10-24.

External links

La Salle University Athletics - Tom Gola Arena

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[Opening-1] 1 2 "La Salle Men's Basketball 2018-19 Media Guide" (PDF). La Salle University Athletics. November 18, 2018. p. 64. Retrieved September 21, 2020.

[inflation-US-2] 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–" . Retrieved February 29, 2024.

[3] "2016 Olympic venues". Archived from the original on 2006-06-16.

[4] "Adam Sandler Films Movie Scene At La Salle University - CBS Philadelphia". www.cbsnews.com. 2021-09-10. Retrieved 2024-10-24.

[5] McQuade, Dan (December 8, 2021). "Behold The Glory Of The La Salle University Smoke Machine". Defector Media.

[6] "La Salle University Unveils Basketball Arena Renovation Project". La Salle University Athletics. 2024-10-14. Retrieved 2024-10-24.

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v t e La Salle Explorers men's basketball
Venues	Wister Hall (19??–1955) Palestra (1955–1989) Civic Center (1989–1996) First Union Spectrum (1996–1998) Tom Gola Arena (1998–2024) John Glaser Arena (2024–present) TruMark Financial Center (facilities)
Culture & lore	"Fight On, Explorers" City 6 Philadelphia Big 5 (Robert V. Geasey Trophy) Gambling scandal Rape scandal
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t e La Salle Explorers women's basketball
Venues	Palestra (1972–1989) Civic Center (1989–1996) First Union Spectrum (1996–1998) Tom Gola Arena (1998–2024) John Glaser Arena (2024–present) TruMark Financial Center (facilities)
Culture & lore	"Fight On, Explorers" City 6 Philadelphia Big 5 (Robert V. Geasey Trophy)
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

v t e Philadelphia Big 5
Schools	Drexel University La Salle University University of Pennsylvania Saint Joseph's University Temple University Villanova University
Teams	Drexel Dragons La Salle Explorers Penn Quakers Saint Joseph's Hawks Temple Owls Villanova Wildcats
Arenas	Daskalakis Athletic Center Hagan Arena Liacouras Center Palestra Finneran Pavilion Tom Gola Arena John Glaser Arena Wells Fargo Center
Competitions	Big 5 Classic
Related	City 6 Holy War Robert V. Geasey Trophy Battle of 33rd Street