I came for a Pitt basketball game back far back in winter 1999-2000 which is saying a lot as ever since then, I've thought regularly about this venue namely since it is so large, heavy, and bulky of a building perched seemingly precariously up so far so high on the hill overlooking the Oakland district in what's locally formerly known as the Hill District now more so by its more historical names of Middle Hill and Terrace Village.
Ticketing at the will call window as I recall way back when was very easy with just id and get your ticket. This was in the beginnings of online ticketing thus wasn't as big a thing. Entry and security were thin and light as I recall more innocent days of our nation's history with cursory checks and no real worries. The interior was surprisingly massive with a very airy feel fit for a Div I men's basketball (now that seems so sexist, but was a term said without weight, implication, or reconsideration back then) arena. Flow and foot traffic were decent since the very brisk wintertime and far-away-from-campus location kept attendence below max with whipping winds chasing us all the way up the walk from Fifth Ave below. There isn't much atop the hill here but this building with just a darkness ominuous beyond the campus border, at least relative to a not-from-here undergraduate student. That feeling still sits with me to this very day, partly also since it was such a formulative time of my life.
The amenities as I recall were many with a varied array of vendors for fan paraphernalia (but similar pricing to official fan stores and campus bookstores) and food (relegated to stadium-like staples, back then during the early days of food awareness). Bathrooms were where the building's historic nature showed which were then unupdated. And that's all I can recall! A historic storied place for sporting. I believe years later they moved to the shiny Petersen Place leaving this for practice. read more