St. John Arena is in its 49th season as the home of Ohio State Athletics. Completed in November of 1956 at a cost of less than $4,000,000, the 13,276-seat structure is named for former OSU basketball coach and athletic director, L. W. St. John.

The move of the men's and women's basketball teams into the brand new Jerome Schottenstein Center at the beginning of the 1998-99 season allowed the men's and women's volleyball teams, men's and women's gymnastics teams, and wrestling team to call St. John home. All five sports currently play in the venerable facility.

The building of St. John Arena ushered in a golden era in Ohio State basketball. The Buckeyes won the national championship in 1960, were runners-up the next two years and captured a still unequalled five straight Big Ten titles between 1960 and 1964.

Over the years, the capacity of the arena has fluctuated. The original mark of 13,491 has gone as high as 13,681 and as low as the present figure of 13,276.

Prior to the start of the 1987-88 season, a $1.2 million scoreboard, featuring the latest in computer graphics, was installed. At the same time, new corner scoreboards and a new lighting system were added.

With the most distant seat only 155 feet from the center circle and no posts or obstructions to block the sight lines, storied St. John Arena remains on the college basketball's most respected basketball theaters.