Tom Gola Arena

Tom Gola Arena, The Tom, The Gola, is a 3,400-seat multi-purpose arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania situated inside the Hayman Center. It is home to the La Salle University Explorers basketball and volleyball teams. It is named after Tom Gola, a Philadelphia basketball player and coach who is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.The building was opened in February 1998. La Salle's Explorers had not played basketball on campus since leaving Wister Hall in 1955, the season after the 1954 NCAA Championship. The Explorers played at the Palestra from 1955 to 1989, the Philadelphia Civic Center from 1989 to 1996, and the First Union Spectrum from 1996 until the arena opened in 1998.In Philadelphia's 2016 Summer Olympics bid, the arena was planned to host fencing.