John J. Lee Amphitheater

The John J. Lee Amphitheater is the basketball arena inside Yale's Payne Whitney Gymnasium in New Haven, Connecticut, home of the Yale Bulldogs. Set within the Gothic Revival 'cathedral of sweat,' it's one of the most architecturally striking venues in college basketball, wrapped in stone and stained glass rather than typical arena concrete. The Ivy League setting gives Bulldogs games an old-school, tradition-heavy atmosphere. Its compact seating keeps fans close to the action for Ivy basketball and volleyball.

Payne Whitney Gymnasium was built starting in 1930, and the first basketball game in the Amphitheater was played in December 1932. The venue was named in 1996 for alumnus John Lee '58, whose play helped lead Yale to its first official Ivy League championship. ESPN The Magazine recognized it in 2011 as one of college basketball's historic venues. Its Gothic architecture and near-century of Ivy League basketball make it one of the sport's most distinctive gyms.