Pete Maravich Assembly Center
The Pete Maravich Assembly Center is a 13,215-seat multi-purpose arena in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The arena opened in 1972. It was originally known as the LSU Assembly Center, but was renamed in honor of Pete Maravich, a Tiger basketball legend, shortly after his death in 1988. Louisiana governor Buddy Roemer signed an act to rename the building in Maravich's honor. Maravich never played in the arena as a collegian but played in it as a member of the Atlanta Hawks in a preseason game. But his exploits while at LSU led the university to build a larger home for the basketball team, which languished for decades in the shadow of the school's football program. The Maravich Center is known to locals as "The PMAC" or "Pete's Palace", or by its more nationally known nickname, "The Deaf Dome", coined by Dale Brown. The Maravich Center's neighbor, Tiger Stadium is known as "Death Valley".
Pete Maravich Assembly Center
Pete Maravich Assembly Center - Court View
Peter Press Maravich, known by his nickname Pistol Pete, was an American professional basketball player of Serbian origin. He starred in college at Louisiana State University's Tigers basketball team; his father, Press Maravich, was the team's head coach. Maravich is the all-time leading NCAA Division I men's scorer with 3,667 points scored and an average of 44.2 points per game. All of his accomplishments were achieved before the adoption of the three-point line and shot clock, and despite being unable to play varsity as a freshman under then-NCAA rules.
Maravich with the New Orleans Jazz in 1977
Maravich at LSU in 1967
Maravich in 1970
Maravich (with the ball) driving past Tom Van Arsdale in 1974