St. John’s University to Open UBS Arena to College Sports

UBS arena drawings next to Kansas vs St. Johns logo
December 1, 2021

When St. John’s tips off against No. 8 Kansas at 7 p.m. on Friday, December 3, two of the winningest programs in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history will play the first-ever college basketball game at the brand-new UBS Arena in nearby Elmont, NY. The Red Storm and the Jayhawks will meet for the 14th time in program history and the first time since 2000.

But opening sports arenas is nothing new to St. John’s, one of the most historic and beloved college sports programs in the country.

On December 29, 1934, the first college basketball doubleheader was played at the “old Madison Square Garden” at Eighth Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets. Westminster (Pa.) College beat St. John’s (then located in Brooklyn, NY), 37–33, and New York University defeated Notre Dame in the nightcap, 25–18.

In February of 1968, the most recent iteration of Madison Square Garden, located between Seventh and Eighth Avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, opened the doors to a multipurpose indoor arena located atop Pennsylvania Station. Later that same year, the legendary John Wooden brought his top-ranked UCLA team with homegrown Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor), who played high school ball at the fabled Power Memorial Academy, to the annual Eastern College Athletic Conference Holiday Festival to celebrate the opening of the new Garden.

But it was the Johnnies—the only local team playing in the festival that year—who upset second-ranked North Carolina, 72–70, in the semifinals to advance to a championship matchup against the defending national champs. St. John’s trailed 31–27 at halftime before UCLA—on route to a 30–0 perfect season and a third straight national title—captured the Holiday Festival title with a 74–56 win. Lew Alcindor was named the tournament MVP.

Before opening its doors for professional baseball, the New York Mets asked St. John’s to test out their new ballpark with a BIG EAST Conference college game. The first baseball game ever played at Citi Field was the rubber match of a three-game series between St. John’s and Georgetown University, which took place on Sunday, March 29, 2009.

Although the game was played under overcast skies in Queens County, St. John’s was listed as the visiting team and lost to Georgetown, 6–4. The game was played in front of 22,397 spectators, the seventh largest all-time regular season crowd for an NCAA baseball game.

A memorable moment was when St. John’s baseball star and former Mets reliever John Franco threw out the ceremonial first pitch. The lefty took to the field in a New York Mets jacket before removing it to reveal a St. John’s jersey.

Just opened on November 20, UBS Arena at Belmont Park, the home of the New York Islanders, is described as “made for music and built for hockey.” The state-of-the-art arena is scheduled to host more than 150 major events annually while delivering an unmatched, live entertainment experience including clear sightlines and premier acoustics. It is located less than five miles from St. John’s Queens, NY, campus and is accessible via car and rideshare off the Cross Island Parkway.

Be a witness to history and visit Ticketmaster to select your seats and purchase your tickets to join your fellow Johnnies for an exciting and historic night of St. John’s hoops.

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