Browse Descriptions for: The Pit (University Arena)

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Rating: 5 | Votes: 1 | Date: 03/07/2026 02:04:00

They built the roof first, then dug the arena out from under it. The Pit - officially University Arena - at 1111 University Boulevard SE in Albuquerque opened on December 1, 1966 with New Mexico beating Abilene Christian, and earned its name honestly: the playing floor sits 37 feet below street level. The construction was the innovation - architect Joe Boehning had contractors erect the 338-by-300-foot Behlen stressed-skin roof at grade, then excavate 55,000 cubic yards of earth beneath it - el...