Tom Gola Arena, The Tom, is a 4,000-seat multi-purpose arena

Arena

An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...

 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

 situated inside the Hayman Center

Hayman Center

The Hayman Center is the indoor athletic arena on La Salle University's campus. It is located directly across a walkway from the St. Francis and St. Edwards residence complex.The building was opened in February 1998 from a very large donation from Harry Blake Hayman I...

. It is home to the La Salle University

La Salle University

La Salle University is a private, co-educational, Roman Catholic university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. Named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, the school was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. As of 2008 the school has approximately 7,554...

 Explorers basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 and volleyball

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.The complete rules are extensive...

 teams. It is named after Tom Gola

Tom Gola

Thomas Joseph Gola is a retired American basketball player.-Early Life:Gola was praised as a great all-around player as a high school student at La Salle College High School, where he led the Explorers to a Philadelphia Catholic League Championship...

, a Philadelphia basketball player and coach who is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The building was opened in February 1998. La Salle's Explorers had not played basketball on campus since leaving Wister Hall in 1955, the season after the 1954 NCAA Championship

1954 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1954 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 24 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 8, 1954, and ended with the championship game on March 20 in Kansas City, Missouri...

. The Explorers played at the Palestra

Palestra

The Palestra, also known as the Cathedral of College Basketball, is a historic arena and the home gym of the University of Pennsylvania Quakers men's and women's basketball teams, volleyball teams, wrestling team, and Philadelphia Big 5 basketball. Located at 215 South 33rd St...

 from 1955 to 1989, the Philadelphia Civic Center

Philadelphia Civic Center

The Philadelphia Convention Hall and Civic Center, more commonly known as the Philadelphia Civic Center and the Philadelphia Convention Center, was a complex of five or more buildings developed out of a series of buildings dedicated to expanding trade which began with the National Export Exhibition...

 from 1989 to 1996, and the First Union Spectrum

Wachovia Spectrum

The Spectrum, formerly known as the CoreStates Spectrum , First Union Spectrum , and Wachovia Spectrum was an indoor arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...

 from 1996 until the arena opened in 1998.

In Philadelphia's 2016 Summer Olympics

2016 Summer Olympics

The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, are a major international multi-sport event to be celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games, as governed by the International Olympic Committee...

 bid, the arena was planned to host fencing

Fencing

Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...

.