The Arlin R. Horton Sports Center, or Sports Center, is a 216,000+ sq. ft.[5] basketball arena, fitness center, and leisure center located in Pensacola, Florida, on the campus of Pensacola Christian College. The venue opened in February 1993 and has been the home of PCC Eagles men's basketball since November 1993, women's volleyball since 1994, women's basketball since 2008, and the former home of the now-defunct men's wrestling team from 1993-2006.[6][7][8] All teams are members of the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCAA). The arena has 3,199 seats,[a] a capacity larger than sixty NCAA Division I basketball venues. It is named after Arlin Horton, co-founder of Pensacola Christian College.[9]
Description
Interior concourse connecting the ice-skating rink (left) and bowling alley (right). Credit: PCHS-NJROTC
The arena is a two-story symmetrical structure with blue, dark blue, and sky-blue chair-back seats. The second-story deck is separated by glass wall panels and includes a running track.[10] The arena has banners dedicating the four intercollegiate sports teams at PCC listing their accolades.
Also inside the Sports Center are fitness and leisure facilities. These include: a bowling alley, an ice skating rink, rock climbing walls, a mini-golf course, a water park, a sun deck, an inline skating track, and two snack bars.[7][10][11]
History
Carpeted volleyball court on the first floor of the Sports Center. The above mezzanine is the inline skating track. Credit: PCHS-NJROTC
The Sports Center opened in 1993, replacing the 2,000-seat John Ray Hall Field House for men's basketball;[4] the latter is still in use as of 2024 for intramural sports.[9] Men's Basketball played their first game at the arena on November 12, 1993, which was a 99-95 loss to Emmanuel College-Georgia.[12] The Eagles' first win in the arena came seven days later in an 80–78 victory over Southeastern University.[13] The Sports Center housed the only indoor ice-skating rink in Pensacola until 1996 when the Pensacola Ice Pilots began play at the Pensacola Bay Center (formerly the Pensacola Civic Center).[14][15] The highest-attended game with a listed number occurred on December 11, 1999, when the Eagles defeated Belhaven University 85-75 in front of 2,987 spectators.[16] The basketball arena temporarily served as overflow for compulsory chapel services until 2002 when PCC opened up the 6,300-seat Crowne Centre auditorium.[17]
A 60,000 sq. ft.[18] expansion was completed in 2008 by Hewes & Company, LLC, which added rock climbing walls, a water park facility (including a Double FlowRider), an inline skating track, and a sun deck.[1][19] In 2015, collegerank.net ranked the Pensacola Christian College water park as #1 in "The 30 Best College Pools" category.[20] Pensacola Christian College is the only college/university in the world with a FlowRider.[21]
^ The arena in its entirety can be viewed in a 360° virtual tour on the college website (see "External links" section). The arena seating is exactly symmetrical (ex: the east wing is identical to the west wing, and the north wing is identical to the south wing), with one minute difference in the second deck of the East/West section.
