The Highmark Events Center, located on the campus of Gannon University, has been the home for Golden Knight teams since the basketball programs began play there during the 1949-50 season. The Gannon acrobatics and tumbling, competitive cheer, wrestling and volleyball programs also compete at the Highmark Events Center. The facility was originally known as the Gannon Auditorium, or affectionately referred to as "The Audi" by longtime Gannon faithful. The facility was rededicated and renamed the Hammermill Center in February of 1983 in honor of the Hammermill Paper Company, whose generosity enabled the University to make necessary repairs and improvements. In February of 2022 the facility underwent another transformation into the Highmark Events Center, part of a multi-million dollar renovation plan to bring it in line with other state-of-the-art facilities.
The Highmark Events Center has a capacity of 2,800 with the building packed to the rafters on most basketball nights. The excitement generated by Gannon teams throughout the years has created one of the most awesome atmospheres in college athletics.
Opposing coaches have voted the Home of the Knights the "toughest" place for a visiting basketball team to win in Division II numerous times over the years. The honor is a direct recognition of the Gannon Basketball tradition and its frantic fans. The Golden Knights have made good on the recognitions, winning 77.1 percent of their all-time contests at home, including an amazing 231-63 record during the last 18 seasons. Gannon is 833-248 all-time at the Highmark Events Center.
Through the years, the Highmark Events Center faithful have been witness to some of the top basketball talent around. The list of names includes Gannon's Glen Summors, Butch Warner, Gerald Walker, Troy Nesmith, Steve Moyer, Javar Cheatham, Kevin Porter of St. Francis (Pa.), Earl Jones and Michael Britt of UDC, and Georgetown coach John Thompson. In addition, Julius Erving, while a collegian at Massachusetts, made a house call to The Audi in 1969.
The women's basketball team has posted 20 consecutive winning seasons at home. The Lady Knights recorded two perfect home records in school history with an 18-0 mark in 2009-10 and a 16-0 mark in 2012-13. Overall, the program has won 71 percent of home games during its 42-year history, producing a 376-154 home record.
Gannon has won 64 percent of its all-time volleyball contests at home, including an amazing 89-13 record (87 percent) from 1985-1994. The Lady Knights have won 87 percent (84-13) of their home matches during the last seven campaigns. The volleyball program has posted three perfect home seasons - a 17-0 mark in 1992, a 9-0 record in 1986 and an 11-0 mark in 2011.
