Bear Down Gym, originally known as Men's Gymnasium, is a 300-seat multi-purpose arena in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

. It opened in 1926. It was home to the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

Wildcats basketball team. It was replaced when the

McKale Center McKale Memorial Center is an athletic arena in the southwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. As the home of the university's Wildcats basketball team of the Big 12 Conference, it is primari ...

opened in 1973. It is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Bear Down Gym is also famous for its inclusion in the 1984 blockbuster film ''

Revenge of the Nerds ''Revenge of the Nerds'' is a 1984 American comedy film directed by Jeff Kanew and starring Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Ted McGinley, and Bernie Casey. The plot follows a group of nerds at the fictional Adams College trying to st ...

''. It was the gymnasium of the fictional "Adams College" and also temporary home to the Nerds after they were kicked out of their original Freshmen home ( Cochise Hall). It was designed by Lyman & Place/

Roy Place Roy Place (1887 – 1950) was a Tucson, Arizona architect. Born in San Diego in 1887, Place moved to Tucson in 1917 after working in Chicago and the Boston firm of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge. Place partnered with John Lyman in 1919, together co ...

, architect, and was built by Clinton Campbell., part of It was listed on the

as Men's Gymnasium, University of Arizona in 1990. The building has been renovated and updated to accommodate the growing needs of University of Arizona students, including housing resources for students such as the Think Tank, where students are tutored. Plans are in the works to add a three-story building over the spot currently holding an old swimming pool.

References

{{NRHP in Arizona by county Defunct college basketball venues in the United States Arizona Wildcats men's basketball Basketball venues in Arizona Sports venues in Tucson, Arizona National Register of Historic Places in Maricopa County, Arizona University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona Event venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona Sports venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona Sports venues completed in 1926 1926 establishments in Arizona