Generoso Pope Athletic Complex

Generoso Pope Athletic Complex

The Pope
Former names	Pope Physical Education Center
Location	180 Remsen Street Brooklyn, New York 11201
Coordinates	40°41′35.33″N 73°59′31.79″W
Operator	St. Francis College
Capacity	1,200 (Daniel Lynch Gymnasium)
Construction
Opened	1971[3]
Expanded	October 10, 2003 (9,000 sqft Genovesi Center)[1]
Construction cost	US$6,000,000 (Genovesi Center)[2]
Tenants
St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers

The Generoso Pope Athletic Complex, also known as The Pope, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is located on Remsen Street, between Court and Clinton Streets, within the St. Francis College campus. The Pope is named after Generoso Pope, an Italian immigrant who rose to prominence in New York City through his entrepreneurship and charity.

The Pope is composed of three levels, on the lower level is the Aquatics Center, above it is the Daniel Lynch Gymnasium and on top is the Genovesi Center. Each level hosts different NCAA Division I sports for St. Francis College and nine of its twenty-one teams call The Pope home. As such, The Pope is the core of St. Francis College's athletic facilities.

Basketball teams

Terriers vs Army Black Knights at The Pope on November 19, 2014.

The Daniel Lynch Gymnasium is the centerpiece of The Pope and it hosts the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Basketball teams games.^[4] The Gymnasium has a capacity of 1,200 seats and hosts nationally and regionally televised games. It has one of the smallest capacities in Division I basketball and is the smallest in the Northeast Conference.^[5] For the 2014-15 men's basketball season, total attendance was 18,882 across 17 games for an average of 1,111 per game.^[6]

The Gymnasium is named after alumnus Daniel J. Lynch, who coached the Terriers for 21 years and led them to 3 Regular Season Conference Championship wins and is the All-Time Terrier Coach wins leader. The teams play on Peter Aquilone Court, which was named after Peter Aquilone, the son of former Athletic Director and St. Francis alumnus Edward Aquilone, ’60.^[4] The court was dedicated to Peter Aquilone on December 1, 2004, posthumously.^[7]

In 2018, the Terriers unveiled a new hardwood basketball floor. The new court replaces the original one that was installed in 1969.^[8]

Water polo, swimming and diving teams

St. Francis Aquatics Center

The Aquatics Center has a competition-sized pool (six-lanes by 25-yards). It is home to the nationally ranked Men's Water Polo team which has three NCAA Final Four appearances, the Women's Water Polo Team and home meets for the college's Swimming and Diving Teams. During the off season and away games the pool is open to all students and is also used by the surrounding community.

Volleyball team

The Genovesi Center is a recent 9,000-square-foot (840 m²) addition to The Pope and was built on top of the Daniel Lynch Gymnasium in 2003.^[2][9] The Genovesi Center was named for former state Assemblyman Anthony J. Genovesi.^[9] The Genovesi Center hosts the Terriers Men's and Women's Volleyball games and is regularly used for intramural games.

Popular culture

Different locations at The Pope have been used for backdrops to various scenes for film and television. The pool has been used to film scenes for the movie Across the Universe (2007) and the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords.^[10][11] The Peter Aquilone Court has been used for filming by the Late Show with David Letterman and The Today Show.^[11]

In 2011, attending a Terriers game was named one reason to love New York by New York Magazine in their seventh annual Reasons to Love New York 2011 piece.^[12]

See also

• List of NCAA Division I basketball arenas

References

1. "Genovesi Center Opens". canarsiecourier.com. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
2. "B'klyn Hts. Getting New Sports Facility". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 4 November 2012.^{[dead link‍]}
3. "Terrier Magazine Fall 2007" (PDF). SFC.edu. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
4. "Generoso Pope Athletic Complex". sfc.edu. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
5. "In a Bandbox Gym, a Team That's Long Had Room for Improvement". NewYorkTimes.com. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
6. "2015 NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL ATTENDANCE" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
7. "St. Francis (NY) To Dedicate Basketball Court to Peter Aquilone". northeastconference.org. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
8. "St. Francis Brooklyn Unveils Brand-New Basketball Floor". sfcathletics.com. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
9. "New Center At St. Francis College To Be Named After Genovesi". canarsiecourier.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
10. "Sets: Across the Universe". nyc.gov. Archived from the original on 22 October 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
11. "SFC Film Shoots". sfc.edu. Archived from the original on 3 July 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
12. "12. Because To Hell With the NBA. Go, St. Francis!". New York Magazine. Retrieved 4 November 2012.