The Most Iconic March Madness Venues

Places Cemented in March Madness History

· Feb 26 - 4 minutes read

Where College Basketball History Was Made

Places Cemented in March Madness History

While homecourt plays a huge role in college basketball’s regular season, the NCAA tournament is a series of neutral-site games held at an expanding field of historic venues across the country. There were 13 unique arenas used during the 2018 NCAA men’s tournament alone.

Since 2000, over 75% of the Final Four venues have been NFL-sized stadiums, designed to amplify the spectacle that is the March Madness championship tournament.

Before you go betting on this year’s March Madness odds, let’s take a trip down memory lane by looking at some of the most iconic March Madness venues.

The Palestra (Philadelphia, PA)

The Palestra opened in 1927 and is affectionately known as the Cathedral of College Basketball. It’s the home gym for the Penn Quakers, but it has hosted more NCAA men’s basketball games and more NCAA tournaments than any other arena in the country.

The Palestra was the host site for the 1939 East Regional, which was the first-ever men’s basketball tournament. It has hosted the sub-regionals 10 times with the last in 1984. In total, The Palestra has featured 52 NCAA tournament games during March Madness.

The gym’s capacity only holds 8,725 seats for basketball, so it gets passed over in favor of larger venues for the big tournament games today now that everything is so commercialized and revenue-driven. But The Palestra is as crucial to the growth of college basketball as any venue in the US.

An environment unlike any other, The Palestra for the PCL playoffs. pic.twitter.com/0HR5kpLHHP

— PD Web (@abovethebreak3) February 20, 2025

Hinkle Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, IN)

Who doesn’t love the Hinkle Fieldhouse, the venue where the championship game scenes were filmed for the movie Hoosiers? Deep in the heart of the basketball nation in Indianapolis, the Hinkle Fieldhouse is the home of the Butler Bulldogs, and it has been giving fans chills since 1928.

The Indiana Hoosiers played in the East Regionals at the Hinkle Fieldhouse (known then as Butler Fieldhouse) in the 1940 tournament, which they won. It has also hosted games in the Sweet 16 as recently as 2021.

There is only one Hinkle Fieldhouse. @ButlerMBB @NITMBB pic.twitter.com/eMWzb4xuZJ

— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) April 1, 2024

The Pit (Albuquerque, New Mexico)

Not to be confused with the brilliant new HBO series The Pitt, The Pit is a basketball venue in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the home of the University of New Mexico Lobos basketball teams. It opened in 1966 as the University Arena before earning the nickname “The Pit” for its unique design.

The playing floor at The Pit is 37 feet below street level and it can hold over 15,000 fans for basketball games.

🏟️Concourse Walk – THE PIT🏟️

🏫 University of New Mexico
📍 Albuquerque, NM

The lap around the top really doesn’t do justice to how incredible this place is🤯

Crowd is 💯💯💯💯💯

One of the louder buildings I’ve been in. Fantastic building. #PROTECTthePIT🐺 pic.twitter.com/pYA1PTXZSc

— Adam Trigger (@AdamTriggerWT) January 18, 2025

The Pit has frequently hosted NCAA tournament games for both men and women. But its most famous game was when it hosted the 1983 Final Four, the last men’s Final Four held on a college campus. That was the year when Houston was upset by North Carolina State after Lorenzo Charles dunked a miss by his teammate at the end of the national championship game, one of the most iconic March Madness highlights in history.

April 4, 1983: Lorenzo Charles dunks it in as time expires and NC State wins the National Championship over Houston 54-52.
pic.twitter.com/PZxYBCdj3K

— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) April 5, 2024

Superdome (New Orleans, LA)

The Caesars Superdome, or just Superdome, in New Orleans, has been the venue of many big games, including this year’s Super Bowl between the Chiefs and Eagles. But the Superdome has also hosted six Final Fours, the most of any venue in March Madness history since 1970, including 2022’s tournament.

But the most famous Final Four in the Superdome was its first in 1982. That was the year when a young Michael Jordan hit the game-winning shot for North Carolina against Georgetown in the national championship game, which featured 15 lead changes.

On this date 38 years ago, Final Four MOP James Worthy had 28 points and Michael Jordan hit the game-winning shot with 17 seconds left as UNC beat Georgetown 63-62 to win the 1982 National Championship pic.twitter.com/uvqsh12ak3

— UNC Tar Heels on SR (@SRTarHeel) March 29, 2020