Reese Court at Special Events Pavilion, 1136 Washington, Washington State College (Eastern Washington University), Cheney, WA

Capacity 6000

Originally, in 1882, known as Benjamin P. Cheney Academy to honor its founder. In 1889 the school was renamed to State Normal School.

State Normal School

Once again the name changed in 1937 to Eastern Washington College of Education. The campus grew quickly in size following World War II and in 1961, the school became Eastern Washington State College.

In 1975 the third phase of the Sports and Recreation Center was completed. The Special Events Pavilion was originally designed to hold nearly 10,000 people. However, political pressure from Spokane, which did not want a rival to the Spokane Coliseum, persuaded Eastern to modify the seating capacity to five thousand. The Special Events Pavilion was named for legendary coach William B. "Red" Reese and is now referred to as Reese Court.
Reese Court has been home to the Eagle basketball and volleyball teams since the 1975-76 season. Other regularly scheduled events in the facility include:

• Graduation Ceremonies
• Concerts
• State B volleyball championships
• High school regional basketball playoffs
• Indoor soccer tournaments
• Homecoming dance
• Science Olympiad competition
• Killin fundraising dinner (conclusion of spring football practice)
• Gymnastics and basketball classes
• Summer basketball camps

In 1977, the school's name was changed for the final time to Eastern Washington University by the state legislature.

Photograph of north face of the Eastern Washington University Fieldhouse as it burned to the ground on April 25, 1977. The Fieldhouse was being dismantled at the time the fire occurred.(2)
Eastern Washington University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections

Jerry performed here on
10/27/78 Jerry Garcia Band






1.)^http://econtent.library.ewu.edu
2.)^ESPN, Editors (2009), ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia, Bristol, Connecticut.
3.)^Facilities, http://goeags.com/facilities/ewas-reesecourt.html