Duquesne's UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse Ready For Debut

PITTSBURGH, PA — No fans will be in attendance, but Duquesne University's new UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse will make its debut Tuesday with a national television audience. Duquesne's men basketball team hosts the Dayton Flyers at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.

The new facility was constructed using the shell of the former A.J. Palumbo Center and opens after an extensive 22-month renovation of the building.

Named after Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and Duquesne alumnus Chuck Cooper, the facility features six suites, 55 club level seats and four fan corners providing sight lines to the

playing floor. The fieldhouse also has wider concourses, improved concession areas, two high-definition Daktronics video boards, four lower-level ribbon boards and a new sound system.

"While we had many obstacles along the way with the pandemic and challenging work environments, UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse is finally going to open due to the efforts of all involved with the project," Duquesne athletic director Dave Harper said in a prepared statement. "While the opening is somewhat muted due to the pandemic, it doesn't dampen our excitement."

UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse houses the Folino Sports Performance Center featuring nearly 10,000 square feet of training equipment, sports performance labs and a nutrition center for all student-athletes, as well as the Joe and Kathy Guyaux Player Development Center which includes two regulation practice basketball courts.

The facility's Gilliand Pavilion serves as the home of the Merle Gilliand Duquesne Sports Hall of Fame. Its PNC Leadership Academy, designed to enhance the student-athlete experience by providing comprehensive programming to enable success in the classroom as well as in the transition into life after college athletics, is also being completed within the Gilliand Academic Center for Success.