Leavey Center
Encyclopedia
Leavey Center, also known as the Leavey Activities Center or occasionally by its old nickname the Toso Pavilion, is Santa Clara University
's indoor basketball arena in Santa Clara, California
. It is home to the Santa Clara University Broncos
Division I Basketball
and Volleyball
Teams. It has hosted the West Coast Conference
men's basketball tournament ten times.
or BC Place Stadium
. The inside of the facility featured the main activity floor, two recreation areas, and team locker rooms. The roof developed several tears over the years and on April 4, 2000, the dome was deflated to make room for a more permanent roof structure to be built over the arena.
The newly rechristened Leavey Center was renovated and reopened on December 13, 2000 now sporting a much taller steel room supported by eight large concrete caissons outside the arena. The interior was only partially constructed on opening day with most of the western half of the building still walled off with plywood. However in late 2001 the construction was completed and the Leavey Center reopened featuring a new two level grandstand on the east side of the court in addition to the single level seating around the rest of the court. The indoor track had been removed and a second practice court was moved to behind the west bleachers. The athletic offices of the university were also moved into the new center behind the larger eastern grandstand. The renovation cost $14 million dollars to complete.
The Leavey Center is named after the late founder of Farmers Insurance, Thomas E. Leavey
, who graduated from Santa Clara in 1922. The renovations were funded by the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation
.
Leavey Center also played host to the Stanford University
basketball teams for a number of games while the Maples Pavilion
underwent renovation.
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University is a private, not-for-profit, Jesuit-affiliated university located in Santa Clara, California, United States. Chartered by the state of California and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, it operates in collaboration with the Society of Jesus , whose...
's indoor basketball arena in Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
. It is home to the Santa Clara University Broncos
Santa Clara Broncos
The Broncos are various sports teams of Santa Clara University. The athletic program currently has 19 varsity sports, 9 men's sports and 10 women's. Additionally there are 18 club sports teams that compete intercollegiately. The school colors are red and white...
Division I 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 has hosted the West Coast Conference
West Coast Conference
The West Coast Conference is an NCAA collegiate athletics conference consisting of nine member schools across the states of California, Oregon, Utah and Washington....
men's basketball tournament ten times.
Arena history
Leavey Center began life as the Harold J. Toso Pavilion, or Toso Pavilion constructed in 1975. The facility featured an air supported vinyl fabric roof supported by 11 large fans constantly producing a higher air pressure inside the dome than outside, similar to the Pontiac SilverdomePontiac Silverdome
The Silverdome is a domed stadium located in the city of Pontiac, Michigan, USA, which sits on . It was the largest stadium in the National Football League until FedEx Field in suburban Washington, D.C...
or BC Place Stadium
BC Place Stadium
BC Place is a multi-purpose stadium located at the north side of False Creek, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the home field for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League and the Vancouver Whitecaps FC of Major League Soccer . Originally opened on June 19, 1983 as the...
. The inside of the facility featured the main activity floor, two recreation areas, and team locker rooms. The roof developed several tears over the years and on April 4, 2000, the dome was deflated to make room for a more permanent roof structure to be built over the arena.
The newly rechristened Leavey Center was renovated and reopened on December 13, 2000 now sporting a much taller steel room supported by eight large concrete caissons outside the arena. The interior was only partially constructed on opening day with most of the western half of the building still walled off with plywood. However in late 2001 the construction was completed and the Leavey Center reopened featuring a new two level grandstand on the east side of the court in addition to the single level seating around the rest of the court. The indoor track had been removed and a second practice court was moved to behind the west bleachers. The athletic offices of the university were also moved into the new center behind the larger eastern grandstand. The renovation cost $14 million dollars to complete.
The Leavey Center is named after the late founder of Farmers Insurance, Thomas E. Leavey
Thomas E. Leavey
Thomas E. Leavey was an American businessman and philanthropist. Born in Ferndale, Humboldt County, California to Irish immigrants, he served as a lieutenant in the U. S. Army in the final days of World War I. In 1922, he received a bachelors degree from the University of Santa Clara. He...
, who graduated from Santa Clara in 1922. The renovations were funded by the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation
Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation
The Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation is a charitable foundation founded by Farmers Insurance Group co-founder Thomas E. Leavey and his wife Dorothy E. Risley Leavey in 1952. In the fifteen year period from 1981 to 1994, the Leavey Foundation donated more than $100 million to institutions and...
.
Leavey Center also played host to the Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
basketball teams for a number of games while the Maples Pavilion
Maples Pavilion
Maples Pavilion is a 7,392-seat multi-purpose arena in Stanford, California built in 1968. Maples underwent a $30 million renovation in March 2004, which wrapped up in time for conference play in December of that year...
underwent renovation.