Kezar Pavilion
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Kezar Pavilion, located adjacent to Kezar Stadium, is an indoor arena in the southwest corner of Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California. The Pavilion, built in 1924, seats 4,000. Currently, The San Francisco Pilots of the American Basketball Association call the venue home.
The University of San Francisco basketball team used Kezar Pavilion, which is owned and operated by the City of San Francisco, before War Memorial Gymnasium was constructed. The most regular tenants of Kezar Pavilion were the Bay Bombers of the original Roller Derby. The Bombers skated home games there from the early 1960's through the end of the Roller Derby in 1973. Games played by the Bombers were videotaped and shown to a TV network of more than 100 stations, making Kezar one of the most well-known sports venues in all the world. Kezar now plays host to San Francisco city high school basketball games. The arena has welcomed events ranging from middle school volleyball to professional boxing. The arena is versatile enough to host a professional basketball game during the day and be converted to host recreational Indoor Soccer that evening. Kezar was discussed as a possible Badminton or Table Tennis training or qualifying venue for San Francisco's 2012 Summer Olympic Bid.
Entertainment is also a staple of Kezar Pavilion. Concerts ranging from The String Cheese Incident to The Clash to Smashing Pumpkins have been held at Kezar Pavilion, mainly because of the intimate "high-school gymnasium like" feel and Haight-Ashbury neighborhood location. In 2006, Kezar Pavilion became the home of ChickFight female professional wrestling tournaments.
