The University Sports Complex or The Den is a 500-seat multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, United States, on the campus of

Loyola University New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans is a Private university, private Jesuit university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the nam ...

. It was formerly called the Recreational Sports Complex or Rec Plex.

History

The facility opened in 1987 and was paid for with a donation from

Freeport-McMoRan Freeport-McMoRan Inc., often called Freeport, is an American mining company based in the Freeport-McMoRan Center, in Phoenix, Arizona. The company is the world's largest producer of molybdenum, a major copper producer and operates the world's la ...

. The complex is located on the fifth and sixth floors of the Freret Street parking garage structure. It was built on the same site as the former

Loyola Field House Loyola Field House was an indoor arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It hosted the ABA's New Orleans Buccaneers for two seasons (1967–68 and 1968–69), and the NBA's New Orleans Jazz (1974–1975). It was also the home venue for L ...

. In 2017, the facility went through a major renovation, including new floor paint, new grandstands and more. The facility sustained major damage during

Hurricane Ida Hurricane Ida was a deadly and extremely destructive tropical cyclone in 2021 that became the second-most damaging and intense hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. state of Louisiana on record, behind Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In terms of m ...

in 2021 forcing the basketball teams to play across the street at Tulane University's

Devlin Fieldhouse Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse is a 4,100-seat, multi-purpose arena built in 1933 on Tulane University's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Since its opening, it has been home to the Tulane Green Wave men's and women's bask ...

for portions of the 2021-2022 season.

Athletic teams

It is home to the

Loyola Wolf Pack The Loyola Wolf Pack are the athletic teams representing Loyola University New Orleans in intercollegiate athletics. The Wolf Pack are a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Southern ...

basketball, swimming, and volleyball teams (men's/women's in all cases). The facility offers both men's and women's locker rooms for the teams. The facility also houses the offices for the Wolf Pack Athletics Department.

Recreational sports

The University Sports Complex also serves as the student recreation center. The facility offers multi-purpose courts used for badminton, basketball, soccer, tennis and volleyball. It also has a racquetball court, a six-lane Olympic-style pool, a suspended track, a weightlifting/conditioning area, a whirlpool, sauna and steam room.

Gallery

File:University Sports Complex, Loyola University New Orleans - Freret St. entrance.jpg File:University Sports Complex, Loyola University New Orleans athletics, basketball and volleyball court-baseline.jpg File:University Sports Complex, Loyola University New Orleans recreation, basketball and volleyball court.jpg

References

External links