Nell and John Wooden Court | |
 The inside of Pauley Pavilion with the new center circle and scoreboards in January 2013 | |
  Pauley Pavilion Location in California Show map of California Pauley Pavilion Location in the United States Show map of the United States | |
| Full name | Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion |
|---|---|
| Address | 301 Westwood Plaza |
| Location | Los Angeles,California |
| Coordinates | 34°04′13″N118°26′48″W / 34.070211°N 118.446775°W /34.070211; -118.446775 |
| Owner | TheUniversity of California, Los Angeles |
| Operator | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Capacity | 12,829 (1965–2011) 13,800 (2012–present)[1][2] |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | January 1964 |
| Opened | June 11, 1965 |
| Construction cost | $5 million (original construction – 1965) $136 million (renovation – 2012)[3] |
| Architect | Welton Becket (original construction – 1965) NBBJ (renovation – 2012) |
| Structural engineer | Richard R. Bradshaw, Inc.[4] |
| General contractor | Miller-Davis Company[4] |
| Tenants | |
| UCLA Bruins (NCAA) (1965–present) | |
TheEdwin W. Pauley Pavilion, commonly known asPauley Pavilion, is anindoor arena located in theWestwood Village district ofLos Angeles,California, on the campus ofUCLA. It is home to theUCLA Bruins men's andwomen's basketball teams. Themen's andwomen's volleyball andwomen's gymnastics teams also compete here. All teams, except for the men's volleyball team, compete in theBig Ten Conference.
The building, designed by architectWelton Becket,[5] was dedicated in June 1965, named forUniversity of California RegentEdwin W. Pauley, who had matched the alumni contributions. Pauley donated almost one fifth of the more than $5 million spent in constructing the arena. The arena was renovated in 2010–12 and was reopened on November 9, 2012, when it hosted a men's basketball game againstIndiana State.
Pauley Pavilion contains 11,307 permanent theater-style upholstered seats, plus retractable seats for 2,492 spectators (466 seats without backs used by the band and students), making a total basketball capacity of 13,800. The capacity prior to the renovation (12,829) had been exceeded several times for several men's basketball games by adding portable seating alongside the retractable seats. The Bruins reopened the newly renovated Pauley Pavilion on November 9, 2012, in front of a record crowd of 13,513. Then a new record was set when 13,727 fans watched the Bruins defeat theArizona Wildcats 74–69 on March 2, 2013.
When the floor seats are retracted, there is space for three full-sized basketball courts. These courts are used for team practice,intramural games, and pickup basketball games. It can also serve as a convention hall or large dining area when in this configuration.
When used for men'svolleyball, the basketball court is striped with colored tape. The volleyball net is erected at the half court line. The women's team uses blue and yellow Sport Court lined up perpendicularly to the basketball court tucked up to the east end of the court.
There is a tunnel on the south side through which trucks and service vehicles may enter. This is also the "backstage" entrance for players, performers, and broadcast personnel.
The floor is called "Nell and John Wooden Court" in honor of former UCLA Men's Basketball CoachJohn Wooden and his wife Nell.
From the opening of the building until 1987, the extra press not involved in the radio or television broadcasts sat behind the south side (team bench side) press table. The working press then moved to sit courtside at "press row" on the northern side of the court, as the south courtside seats were opened up to influential and affluent boosters. In 2003, the UCLA Athletic Department made available north side courtside seats to affluent donors. The media now sit higher up in permanent seating dead-center in the north side of the bleachers. The press move to the north side in 1987 was as controversial as the 2003 move, in that the student section was now behind the press table and big donors had taken the south side courtside seats.
The student section has moved several times as well. Since 2014, the student section occupies the 100 level south side seats, as well as the west corner with overflow in the 200 level.
TheUCLA Varsity Band has also moved to accommodate seating changes. Originally, they were located on the north courtside directly across from the UCLA bench. In 1984, they moved to the northeast corner courtside. In 1990 they moved to the north courtside directly across from the visitors bench. In 1996 they moved to the north side above the student section. In 2003, they moved to the west side of the arena to be courtside.
Before the construction of the Pavilion, the on-campus home to the UCLA Bruins men's basketball team was the 2,400-seatMen's Gym, currently known as the Student Activities Center, but then disparagingly known as the "B. O. barn."[6] AfterJohn Wooden led the Bruins to thenational championship in 1964, fans and Wooden felt that a more suitable arena needed to be constructed. However, it had been obvious even before then that the Bruins needed a new arena; since 1955 the Men's Gym's capacity had been limited to 1,500 by order of the Los Angeles fire marshal. Games that were expected to attract larger crowds were played atPan Pacific Auditorium, theLos Angeles Memorial Sports Arena and other venues around Los Angeles.
Pauley Pavilion was constructed so that there would be some space between the crowds and the action on the court.[7] Wooden cited the example of the close quarters of Cal's Harmon Gym (nowHaas Pavilion) where fans would "pull leg hairs from his players' legs".Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then known as Lew Alcindor, was recruited to UCLA partly on the promise of playing in the new arena.
The venue has been used for theNickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. It first held the KCAs in 1995, then in 1998 and 1999, then from 2004 to 2010. When renovations began in 2011, the show was moved to theGalen Center. From 2014 to 2017, it became the venue for the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Sports, a spin-off to the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. The KCSs then moved toBarker Hangar for 2018 and 2019.
The only championship banners that are currently displayed within the building are for national orNCAA Championships. Unlike most schools, there are neither conference championship banners nor other tournament championship banners displayed in the building, despite the fact UCLA teams have won many tournaments and basketball championships in thePac-12 Conference and its predecessor conferences. Former Bruin point guard,New Jersey Nets, LA native and former Los Angeles Lakers playerJordan Farmar described the rationale for this during the Bruins' 2005Final Four run, by stating, "[a]t UCLA, only national championship banners go up." The men's banners are blue with gold lettering, while the women's banners are gold with blue lettering.
In 1985, UCLA won the NIT and promptly hung an NIT championship banner among the 10 existing NCAA championship banners. This banner remained in the rafters until 1995, when the Bruins won the NCAA title again and replaced the NIT banner with their 11th NCAA championship banner.[22] During the 2012 renovation, replicas were created for some of the older banners, which were different sizes. The original banners were then sold at an auction.[22]
There is one banner for the women's basketballAIAW championship in 1978. There are 11 individual banners for theNCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship teams. There are two banners for volleyball, one for the 19men's NCAA volleyball championships and one for the threeNCAA women's volleyball championships and threeAIAW championships. There are two banners for gymnastics, one for the twomen's NCAA gymnastics champions, and one for the fiveNCAA women's gymnastics champions. The volleyball and gymnastics banners list all the years in which Bruin teams were NCAA or national champions.
Theretired numbers of UCLA men's and women's basketball players are displayed in the rafters of Pauley Pavilion. On February 3, 1990, the first four UCLA basketball player jersey numbers were retired. This was the key moment in the "Pauley at 25" celebration of the first 25 years of the arena. The primary criteria for being chosen was that all four players were three-time All-Americans.[23]
The initial honorees were:
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Pauley Pavilion has been the venue for many other sports championships, concerts, commencement ceremonies and political events.
Concert performers have includedBob Marley,[24]Bad Religion,Bob Dylan,Diana Ross & the Supremes,Joni Mitchell,Van Morrison,Bob Hope,Frank Sinatra,Luciano Pavarotti,Eric Clapton,The Grateful Dead,Phish,Guns N' Roses,Metallica, andFaith No More, among others.
In 1970,Frank Zappa appeared with theLos Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra performing Zappa's orchestral music.Zubin Mehta directed the orchestra in what would become the soundtrack for Zappa's movie200 Motels. Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention recordedJust Another Band from L.A. at the Pauley Pavilion in 1971, and was released in 1972.
In 1984, it was the Los Angeles venue for the1984 Summer Olympics Men's and Women'sgymnastics and Women'srhythmic gymnastics events.[25]Mary Lou Retton became the first Olympicgymnast outside ofEastern Europe ever to have won the Olympic all-around title.
On April 26, 1986, a birthday tribute for actress/comedianCarol Burnett was held inside. SingerNeil Diamond performed "Sweet Caroline" in her honor.
Two years later in 1988, it was the site of apresidential election debate betweenGeorge H. W. Bush andMichael Dukakis. Dukakis also held his finalelection-eve rally here, hosted by the UCLA Bruin Democrats.
In 1994, composerHenry Mancini, having learned he hadterminalcancer, gave his last concert at Pauley Pavilion.
In 2009,UCLA Spring Sing made its Pauley Pavilion return on May 8, having switched from the smallerLos Angeles Tennis Center to this much larger venue due to its popularity and overwhelming demand.
On February 26, 2011, the Bruins hosted their last men's basketball home game against theArizona Wildcats before extensive renovations were scheduled to begin. Tyler Trapani, great grandson of CoachJohn Wooden and member of UCLA's team, fittingly scored the last goal in the old arena.[26] The1971 National Champions were honored at halftime.
In 1982, the center court jump circle was replaced. It was later autographed by coach John Wooden and several former Bruins' players including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton. It was acquired by a private party and consigned to a sports memorabilia auction where it sold May 1, 2011 for $325,085, the most ever paid for a piece of college basketball memorabilia.[27]
Almost every year since its inception, theNickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards were held inside the arena until the renovations in 2011. It was replaced by Kids Choice Sports Awards in 2014 and been held since then.
Following the completion of the renovation, Pauley Pavilion hosted theNCAA women's gymnastics championships on April 19–21, 2013 and theNCAA men's volleyball championships on May 2 & 4, 2013.
In recent years, the newly renovated Pauley Pavilion has hosted many campus-wide events. In 2013, UCLA's annual Spring Sing organized by the Student Alumni Association was held in this arena. Bruins from all areas of campus performed on stage and truly exemplified the talent and spirit of the UCLA community. The Pediatric Aids Coalition hosts their 26-hour Dance Marathon in Pauley Pavilion as well, which raised $445,019.18 for Pediatric AIDS research in 2014, $446,157.05 in 2015, and $446,253.60 in 2016.
The court was significantly flooded after a 30-inch water main burst on Sunset Boulevard and water started spewing in on July 29, 2014.
On May 1–5, 2018, Pauley Pavilion was the host for the2018 NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Tournament.[28]Long Beach State defeated the Bruins in 5 sets to win its second national title since 1991.
Both the2022 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Volleyball Tournament and the2022 NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Tournament were held at Pauley Pavilion on April 20–23, 2022 and May 1–7, 2022 respectively.
On November 14, 2025, 10,498 fans saw the women's volleyball match between the Bruins and the No. 1 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers at Pauley Pavilion.[29]
As Pauley Pavilion was turning 40 years old, talk intensified about a possible major renovation of the facility.[30] Narrowness of the concourses for spectators to walk around the arena, limited food services and restrooms, the lack of luxury boxes, and a floor configuration that keeps some seating sections distant from the floor have been cited by various observers as areas needing improvement.
According to a 2008 article in the UCLADaily Bruin, "UCLA initially announced the project Jan. 11, 2007, when it hoped to have construction completed by legendary basketball coach John Wooden’s 100th birthday, Oct. 14, 2010. Since that announcement, the project has moved slowly, as UCLA has sought to raise funds for the project."[31]
The cost of the renovation was once estimated to be $110 million, but now a final estimate will await the development of the architectural plans. The Daily Bruin article also noted "a 2012 completion date is now most likely," with UCLA basketball games having to move off-campus for one year. Exterior work began in 2010, with interior construction following the 2010-2011 basketball season.[32]
The university unveiled the Pauley Pavilion renovation plans to the public and kicked off the fund-raising campaign on May 11, 2009, at Pauley.[33] Thegroundbreaking ceremony was held a year later on May 11, 2010. By that time, Wooden was in failing health and could not attend; he died three weeks later, at age 99.
The last men's basketball game before Pauley was closed for renovation was UCLA's 71–49 victory overArizona. The last basket of that game was scored by the Bruins' Tyler Trapani, Coach John Wooden's great-grandson.[34]Controversy emerged due to the newly announced location of the student "den" section. The student section would have been moved from the traditional courtside seats to an area behind the basket. However, after action by alumni and an on-campus student vote, the proposed change was reverted.
After Pauley's closure for renovation, the 2011-12 Bruins men's basketball team played their home games off-campus at theLos Angeles Memorial Sports Arena and theHonda Center. Women's basketball and other Pauley Pavilion teams played at the on-campusJohn Wooden Center.
Pauley Pavilion was renovated and opened for the UCLA men's basketball season in 2012.
| Preceded by | Home of theUCLA Bruins 1965 – present | Succeeded by Current |
| Preceded by | Host of theJeopardy! College Championship 2001 | Succeeded by |
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