Rose Hill Gymnasium is a 3,200-seat multi-purpose arena on the Rose Hill campus of Fordham University in The Bronx, New York City, New York. The arena, which opened in 1925, is the oldest on-campus venue currently used primarily for an NCAA Division I basketball team.
- Venue
- Rose Hill Gymnasium
- Town
- New York, US
- Capacity
- 3,200
Rose Hill Gymnasium is a 3,200-seat multi-purpose arena on the Rose Hill campus of Fordham University in The Bronx, New York City, New York. The arena, which opened in 1925, is the oldest on-campus venue currently used primarily for an NCAA Division I basketball team. After the closure Northeastern University's Matthews Arena in December 2025, it became the oldest overall college basketball venue in use. The volleyball team of Fordham University also uses the gym. The Rose Hill Gymnasium has a gothic facade in keeping with the rest of Fordham University's buildings. The interior design features two high-tech video boards, bleachers that surround all four sides of the court, and additional elevated seating along the court. ESPN named this gym one of the four “cathedrals” of college basketball. At the time it was built, it was one of the largest on-campus facilities in the country, earning it the nickname "The Prairie." The Rose Hill Gymnasium has been the site of many legendary college and high school basketball games, including the final high school game of Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. During World War II, it was also used as a barracks. New York City Mayor Ed Koch lived in these barracks for a time. As early as 1970, an effort headed by famed Fordham alumnus Vince Lombardi was made to build a new arena. This effort ended with Lombardi's death and the move of head basketball coach "Digger" Phelps to the University of Notre Dame. Some of the features of the building that display a Gothic Revival architectural style include arches and arch-like shapes, buttresses around the windows for exterior support, stone carvings, a parapet with crenellations commonly used in medieval castles, a stone sculpture of a cross and Fordham's emblem above the main arch to the entrance, and walls made of rough light field stones. The Gymnasium hosted its first basketball game on January 16, 1925. The game was refereed by Frankie Frisch, a Fordham alumni, and New York