Kezar Pavilion, located adjacent to

Kezar Stadium Kezar Stadium is an outdoor athletics stadium in San Francisco, California, located adjacent to Kezar Pavilion in the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park. It is the former home of the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders (first AFL s ...

, is an indoor

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 ...

in the southeast corner of

Golden Gate Park Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, United States, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. It is administered by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, which began in 1871 to oversee the developm ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

, United States (US). Built in 1924, the Pavilion seats 4,000 people and is owned and operated by the City of San Francisco. The San Francisco Rumble, 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 ...

, and the

Academy of Art Urban Knights The Academy of Art Urban Knights are the 14 varsity athletic teams that represent Academy of Art University, located in San Francisco, California, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Urban Knights compete as members of the Pacific We ...

, an

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

school, call Kezar Pavilion their home court.

Sports

The

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

basketball team used Kezar Pavilion before

War Memorial Gymnasium The War Memorial at the Sobrato Center in San Francisco, California is an athletic venue on the University of San Francisco (USF) campus. It contains War Memorial Gymnasium and serves as home for the San Francisco men's and women's basketball te ...

was constructed. The

Santa Clara Broncos The Santa Clara Broncos are athletic teams that represent Santa Clara University. The school colors are red and white. The nicknames for teams is The Broncos and the student fans are referred to as the "Ruff Riders". The Broncos compete in the N ...

also used the pavilion for home games from 1927 until World War II, due to alumni and fans being centrally located in San Francisco. The most regular tenant of Kezar Pavilion was the co-ed

roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly in the United States. Game play consists of a series of short scrimmages (jam ...

team, the San Francisco Bay Bombers. The Bombers skated home games at the venue from 1961 to the end of the original Roller Derby league in 1973. Games played by the Bombers were videotaped and shown to a TV network of more than 100 stations. In 2007 the San Francisco Bay Bombers and roller derby returned to the pavilion. Kezar was not only used by the Bombers for home season games, but the team also held tryouts in the building. In 2011 the Bay Area Derby Girls hosted their first double-header at the pavilion. In 2006 Kezar Pavilion became the home of

ChickFight ChickFight was a women's professional wrestling promotion based in San Francisco, California. History ChickFight originally began as an eight-woman tournament with the first one taking place on October 29, 2004, in Hayward, California as part of ...

female professional wrestling tournaments, and San Francisco Pro Wrestling company Fog City Wrestling secured the Kezar pavilion as their new home in 2008 due to an increase in demand. As of 2013, Kezar is also a venue for San Francisco high school basketball games. The arena has accommodated numerous different sports, ranging from middle school

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 ...

to professional

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

. The versatility of the arena means that the differing requirements of various sports can be met, from professional basketball game to recreational

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor s ...

. Kezar was discussed as a possible

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

or table tennis venue, for the purpose of training or qualifying, for San Francisco's 2012 Summer Olympics bid.

San Francisco Summer League Pro-AM

Kezar Pavilion is home to the San Francisco Summer League Pro-Am. The San Francisco Pro-Am Summer League Pro-Am is for former and current male and female professional and/or college basketball players. High school players are also welcome to participate in the league. Men and women do not play against each other and are in separate leagues. The San Francisco Summer League Pro-Am originally started in 1979 and has continued each summer since then. The league is supported by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department summer programming. The idea behind the summer Pro-Am league is that it adds to the quality of life around the Bay Area and provide locals with an opportunity to see high level competition at no cost. At no cost, the league has become a place for those who cannot afford to attend local college or professional basketball games. There are no league tryouts for the San Francisco Pro-Am. There is an open-roster policy all season long if the head coach wants to add players. Coaches for each team hand select players for their teams. The season begins in June and ends in August. Games are played Monday-Thursday and are all played at 8:00PM. NBA players in the Pro-Am have included Steph Curry, Aaron Gordon, Jason Kidd, and Jason Richardson. WNBA players to play in the women's league have included Devanei Hampton, Christy Hedgpeth, and Jennifer Azzi. Azzi was the head coach of the women's basketball team at the University of San Francisco from 2010 to 2016. The Pro-Am is an opportunity for professional players to interact with fans and also to improve their game. Many professional players come to the Pro-Am to train and play in a different environment than they are used to. The San Francisco Summer League Pro-Am awards MVP's (Most Valuable Player) and has a playoff format at the end of the season. The championship series is a best of 3 series, with the league champion is the first to win two games. The games operate under most professional basketball guidelines, with a 24-second shot clock. The quarter length is 10 minutes, as opposed to 12 in the NBA or WNBA. Each team has 5 timeouts per game, with one allowed if the game goes into overtime. The team with the best record in their respective league wins the regular season. The playoffs are made up of 5 teams. The winner of the regular season has a first round bye. Many local college and high school players have participated in the San Francisco Pro-Am. Players include former Saint Ignatius players Kenny Hatch and Stephen Domingo, Archbishop Mitty High School's Aaron Gordon, and Serra High School's Henry Caruso. The San Francisco Pro-Am is highly popular among players trying to develop into better players and gain attention from NBA or international organization scouts. The 2017 summer season champions was team Bay Pride, led by head coaches Al Gordan and Frank Williams. Bay Pride beat Dream Team in the best of 3 series. Dream Team featured the 2017 San Francisco Pro-Am MVP, Juan Anderson. The 2017 men's regular season standings were: * Bay Pride: 6-1 * South Bay: 5-2 * Oakland Believers: 5-2 * Dream Team: 4-3 * East Bay: 3-4 * SF City: 2-5 * Bay City: 2-6 * Bay Raiders: 1-6

Entertainment

Concerts for artists such as

Throbbing Gristle Throbbing Gristle were an English music and visual arts group formed in 1975 in Kingston upon Hull by Genesis P-Orridge, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Peter Christopherson, and Chris Carter. They are widely regarded as pioneers of industrial music. Evol ...

The String Cheese Incident The String Cheese Incident (SCI) is an American jam band from Crested Butte and Telluride, Colorado, formed in 1993. The band is composed of Michael Kang (acoustic/electric mandolin, electric guitar, and violin), Michael Travis (drums and percus ...

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, satirizing ...

and

Smashing Pumpkins Smash may refer to: People * Smash (wrestler) (born 1959), professional wrestler * Moondog Rex, another professional wrestler who briefly wrestled as the original Smash, before being replaced by the above. * DJ Smash, DJ and music producer Ar ...

have been held at Kezar Pavilion. Kezar is popular as a music venue due to the intimate "high-school gymnasium" atmosphere that exists, in addition to its location in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Throbbing Gristle's Kezar show was the band's last live performance until their 2004 reunion.

References

{{San Francisco Dons men's basketball navbox Sports venues in San Francisco Music venues in the San Francisco Bay Area Golden Gate Park Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco Basketball venues in California Wrestling venues in San Francisco San Francisco Dons basketball venues American Basketball Association (2000–present) venues 1924 establishments in California Sports venues completed in 1924

Sports

San Francisco Summer League Pro-AM

Entertainment

See also

References