The Pavilion
The Pavilion is Villanova’s on-campus residence. Built in 1985, it replaced the Jake Nevin Field House as the home of Villanova Basketball. The arena holds 6,500 fans, including a 2,000 seat student section at the south end. The student section is known as one of the premier section in college basketball, and The Pavilion is undoubtedly one of the premier home court advantages in the country.
The Wachovia Center
For larger games, Villanova travels into Philadelphia and plays at The Wachovia Center (home to the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers). The arena officially seats 21,600. When Villanova played UConn on February 6, 2006, they officially set the record for highest attendance for a college basketball game in the state of Pennsylvania when 20,859 fans treked to watch what many believed to be the game of the year (an eventual Villanova victory). The Wachovia Center holds 2 students sections, one behind each hoop. Although not as loud as The Pavilion, it still provides a noticeable advantage for Villanova.
The Wachovia Spectrum
The Wachovia Spectrum has been a large part of college basketball history, especially to the local Philadelphia schools. Originally built to accommodate the NHL’s expansion into Philadelphia, The Spectrum has hosted numerous Big 5 contests, the Atlantic-10 Conference Tournament, 3 NCAA Regional Finals (it was the site of Christian Laettner’s famous last -second shot), and 2 Final Fours. Villanova hosted Pittsburgh on in the last ever college basketball game on January 28th, 2009, a game in which the Wildcats emerged victorious 67-57. The Spectrum has been commissioned to be torn down in late 2009 to make way for the Philly Live! complex.
