Walsh Gymnasium
Walsh Gymnasium is a multi-purpose arena in South Orange, New Jersey on the campus of Seton Hall University. The arena opened in 1941 and can seat 1,655 people. It was home to the Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball team before they moved to the Meadowlands in 1985 and then Prudential Center in 2007. Currently, the arena hosts the women's basketball and volleyball teams, but continues to host men's basketball for preseason exhibitions, postseason invitational games such as early rounds of the NIT, and occasionally a regular season non-conference game if there is a conflict with Prudential Center's event schedule. The building is part of the Richie Regan Recreation and Athletic Center, and, like the school's main library, is named for Rev. Thomas J. Walsh, Fifth Bishop of Newark and former President of the Board of Trustees.
Walsh hosted a semifinal game of the ECAC Metro Region Tournament, a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's college basketball tournament organized by the Eastern College Athletic Conference, in 1977. Both games for the Pirates in the 2012 NIT were played in Walsh.
In 2020, Walsh is slated to receive a significant facelift following the conclusion of the 2019-20 collegiate basketball season. Upgrades will include: Complete replacement of the seating including the court level bleachers with chair-back seating; a new center-hung scoreboard, as well as two new video boards flanking the stage; new ceiling-mounted baskets which will replace the portable baskets; a new sound system; and a new hardwood court.
