Pitt sports are great, but where do they play?

Pitt’s athletics facilities come in all different shapes and sizes.

The basketball and… Pitt’s athletics facilities come in all different shapes and sizes.

The basketball and football teams enjoy state-of-the-art facilities designed to host major sporting events. The Panther compete all over the place, from Indianola, Pa., to right here in Oakland.

With a new school year and myriad sports seasons right around the corner, here is a rundown of the Pitt athletics facilities each new student should know.

Petersen Events Center

Known to students and media pundits as “The Pete,” the Petersen Events Center plays host to the men’s and women’s basketball teams. Finished in 2002, the Pete overlooks Pitt’s lower campus from the corner of DeSoto and Terrace streets.

The Pete has 12,500 seats, 1,500 of which are designated for Pitt students. From the student section, which lines one side of the court and covers half of the sideline behind each basket, students sit floor-level.

Coaches shouting instructions, players arguing calls and referees explaining their officiating can all be heard from the student section. And the only restricted view is provided by other students standing to catch the action.

The Pete hosted the 2007 Women’s NCAA Tournament first and second rounds on March 18 and 20, where Pitt played in the program’s first NCAA Tournament. The Panthers defeated James Madison in the first round before losing to eventual-national-champion Tennessee.

Students enter the Pete for basketball games through the main lobby.

Pitt men’s basketball is scheduled to play nine home games next season at the Pete while the women’s team will play eight.

Basketball tickets are rewarded on a “loyalty point” system, mediated through your my.pitt.edu homepage. You request tickets on an individual game basis and are granted tickets based on your cache of loyalty points, which you earn for showing up to a game for which you requested and were rewarded a ticket.

Be careful, though. If you are rewarded a ticket and don’t go to that game, you lose loyalty points.

Heinz Field

After 74 years at Pitt Stadium, which was located in Oakland and one year at Three Rivers Stadium, Pitt football has settled in at Heinz Field.

Heinz Field, shaped like a horseshoe with a scoreboard on the south end of the stadium, overlooks the Ohio River and Downtown Pittsburgh. Decorated with a giant Heinz Ketchup bottle on its scoreboard and bright yellow seats, Heinz Field seats 64,450.

University-provided transportation takes students from Bigelow Boulevard to the North Shore at any time the day of Pitt’s games, which almost always take place on Saturdays. Students sit behind and next to the north end zone, with seats as close as the front row.

Pitt will play seven of its games at Heinz Field this season, starting Sept. 1. The Panthers host Navy on Wednesday, Oct. 10, in a game that will be nationally televised by ESPN.

Student football tickets also can be purchased through your my.pitt.edu account either by a game-by-game or season-ticket basis.

Fitzgerald Field House

The Fitzgerald Field House – which, despite popular belief, is not named after Pitt football great Larry Fitzgerald – is the home for Pitt gymnastics, volleyball and wrestling. The Field House was the home of Pitt’s basketball teams before the Pete was built.

The Field House was named after former Pitt chancellor Rufus H. Fitzgerald. It was built in 1951 and seats 6,798. Its main court, with both basketball and volleyball lines crisscrossing the hard wood, is surrounded by ascending wooden bleachers and an indoor running track.

The Fitzgerald Field House has hosted several conference and regional championships for gymnastics, volleyball and wrestling over the years.

It is located across from the popular recreational facility, Trees Hall, and behind the Pete, on the corner of Alequippa and Darragh streets, well within walking distance from any part of Pitt’s campus.

Trees Field

Trees Field features two diamonds – one for baseball, one for softball – located behind the Cost Center and next to the intramural football fields. Seating includes several bleachers.

The baseball diamond is different than most college baseball fields – it has an Astroturf infield and a grass outfield.

Plans for a new sports facility, located in an abandoned area behind Trees Hall, have been confirmed. The new facility would include baseball fields and soccer fields for Pitt athletics.

Founders Field

Located in Indianola, Pa., a township about 30-40 minutes from Pitt, Founders Field is the home field for Pitt men’s and women’s soccer teams. It will host the 2007 seasons for both teams as plans for the aforementioned new soccer fields are only plans – no construction or groundbreaking has taken place to date.

Trees Pool

Opened in 1962, Trees Pool is a 50-meter, Olympic-sized pool, featuring four diving boards and multiple diving towers. A small bleacher section overlooks the pool.

Pitt’s swimming and diving program, which features men’s and women’s teams, hosted the 1998 Big East Conference championship. Pitt has hosted 15 Big East championships at Trees Pool.

Part of Trees Hall, Trees Pool is located across from the Fitzgerald Field House on the corner of Alequippa and Darragh.