Cornell Big Red at Harvard Crimson Womens Basketball Lavietes Pavilion Cambridge

Lavietes Pavilion, also known as the Ray Lavietes Basketball Pavilion at the Briggs Athletic Center, is a multi-purpose arena located in Allston, MA. The venue was formerly known as Briggs Athletic Center. It officially opened for the public in 1926, whereas for basketball, it opened in 1982. The arena is under the ownership of Harvard University and operated by the same. Lavietes Pavilion is the second-oldest college basketball arena that is still operational, after Fordham University’s Rose Hill Gymnasium.

The first game played by the women in the Lavietes Pavilion took place on November 26, 1982, against Chicago. A day later, the first men’s inaugural game took place at the facility against neighbor and rival MIT. The building of the arena was rededicated to Ray Lavietes ’36 in March 1996. He was a two-time basketball letterman who made a $2.1 million contribution to the renovation project in 1995 and 1996. Again in 2016, it was announced by the university that the arena would undergo renovations to update the amenities. As a result, a new central scoreboard was installed, and the entrance lobby was expanded along with locker rooms and ticketing areas.

The 2013 renovation also installed chairback seats in the rear section, reducing capacity to 1,636. This made the facility, smallest basketball arena in the Ivy League. The newly renovated venue opened for men’s and women’s basketball season 2017-2018.