Pamplin Sports Center

The history of Lewis & Clark’s  home basketball and volleyball courts has been  varied and colorful  since the move to Palatine Hill.  In the first year of renewed conference membership, the team practiced at Collins View Grade School. They actually played some of their games there since there was no gymnasium on the new Fir Acres campus.  In the first two years, most L&C home league games were played in the old Jefferson High School gymnasium in North Portland.  
    The College’s new gymnasium (where Zehntbauer Swimming Pavilion now stands) was completed in time for the 1947-48 season.  It had an unusual plywood floor and seated 1,200 fans.  A fire on September 12, 1966, destroyed the gym and most of its contents.  For the next three seasons, the Pioneers became the Vagabonds. They practiced and played games in 16 different school gyms, ranging from Scappoose on the north to Centennial High in Gresham on the east.  Most practices were at night, although the teams sometimes worked out in the afternoon in the tiny Riverdale Grade School gym near the campus.  Home games were at Jackson and West Linn High Schools and at the University of Portland’s Howard Hall.  Spacious Pamplin Sports Center was completed in the spring of 1969 and dedicated that June.  The facility seats 2,200.
The fall of 2007 brings the first of several planned upgrades to the facility. A brand new gym floor was installed over the summer. The new floor spans the entire width of the room, creating the opportunity for three hardwood courts for varsity practices, intramurals, and recreational uses. The floor came from Connor Hardwood Courts and meets or exceeds all Athletic Performance requirements according to the international standard DIN 18032 Part 2, 2001. The floor’s finger jointed matched MFMA Norther Hard Maple is installed over a plywood sub floor and pad system  designed to reduce the likelihood of impact injuries and damage to the joints and provide a uniform playing surface. It is finished with 2 coard Hillyard seal and 2 coats finish.