EDITORIAL: Hoop Dreams

The Class of 1971's gift toThe Class of 1971's gift toupgrade the Palestra wasThe Class of 1971's gift toupgrade the Palestra wasgreatly needed and will doThe Class of 1971's gift toupgrade the Palestra wasgreatly needed and will dowonders for Penn andThe Class of 1971's gift toupgrade the Palestra wasgreatly needed and will dowonders for Penn andPhiladelphia basketball.The Class of 1971's gift toupgrade the Palestra wasgreatly needed and will dowonders for Penn andPhiladelphia basketball.____________________________ The history, the tradition and the atmosphere only carry so much weight in today's media-driven world. While the structure itself is sound and the ambiance unparalleled, the locker rooms are uncomfortable, the press room is inadequate and no facilities exist to host VIPs. Updating these facilities to adequately serve national television crews, hoards of print media, nationally ranked teams and millionaire alums is the only way to restore the Palestra to the world-class facility it once was. Athletic Director Steve Bilsky and his Class of 1971 should be applauded for recognizing this fact and making an effort to return the facility to national prominence. There is no reason first-round NCAA Tournament games cannot return to the Palestra. Between 1939 and 1984, the Palestra played host to the Big Dance 18 times. The "cathedral of basketball" as the New York Daily News' Dick Weiss called it, once renovated, would be an ideal candidate for the Philadelphia 76ers' practice site, which is currently the St. Joseph's University gym. Hopefully, this upgrade will also become the first step toward returning the Big 5 to its former status, when three Philadelphia-area schools and a nationally prominent foe played doubleheaders at least once a week. The University should be thankful for the Class of 1971 alumni. Their gift will benefit the University, its basketball program and the entire city of Philadelphia.