Facilities & Directions
Bender Arena
Bender Arena, sitting inside the Sports Center, serves as the main focal point of varsity athletics at American University. Officially opening its doors on January 23, 1988, when American University’s Women’s Basketball team hosted James Madison University. Bender Arena is named for Jack I. Bender, the father of Howard Bender, whom, along with his wife Sondra Bender, donated the funds for the facility. Later that year, American University hosted its Commencement ceremonies in the building, marking the first time in decades that Commencement was held on-campus.
Bender Arena hosts varsity practices and competitions for women’s volleyball, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball, along with hosting competitions for wrestling. The arena has four sections of seating in the lower bowl totaling almost 2,900 seats. In addition, the mezzanine level can expand to add up to another 490 seats, with all seats right on top of the action.
The arena boasts a portable competition floor for varsity women’s volleyball, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball, dedicated to the memory of Stafford H. “Pop” Cassell. The newest floor, from Robbins Sports Surfaces, was designed and installed in the summer of 2016.
Prior to the 2012-2013 academic year, the Arena saw two brand new Daktronics video boards installed on the west and north walls of the Arena, allowing fans to see video replays and live action on one of the largest video boards in an on-campus facility in Washington, DC. Since 2000, the Arena has seen several other improvements, including new locker rooms for the varsity athletic teams, an expanded athletic training room facility, new chair back bleachers on the west side of the Arena and new bench bleachers on the north & south sides of the Arena, as well as new signage and banners throughout the building commemorating the 
history of American University Athletics.
Besides varsity athletic practices & competitions, the arena is regularly hosts many University related events, including Convocation, Career Center Job & Internship Fairs, Admissions Recruitment events, development & fundraising events, and Commencement.
Bender Arena has also regularly hosted national touring artists over the years, including Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Phish, Third Eye Blind, Green Day, Bob Dylan, and Jimmy Eat World, among many more. The University often also brings many political and notable speakers to Bender Arena, which have included the likes of former President Jimmy Carter, former President Bill Clinton, former first lady Laura Bush, the Dalai Lama, former Astronaut John Glenn, American journalist Anderson Cooper, and activist Malala Yousafzai, among many others.
The Arena often hosts many summer camps, high school basketball tournaments, and charity events, including the JDRF Real Estate Games and in 2010, hosted a World Team Tennis event benefiting the Elton John Aids Foundation featuring Elton John, Billie Jean King, Andre Agassi, Steffi Graff, and Anna Kournikova.
Bender Arena is the flagship facility of the American University Sports Center, which was built at cost of $20 million dollars in 1985 by Daniel F. Tulley and Associates. The Sports Center also includes the Jacobs Fitness Center, the Reeves Aquatic Center, a mini-mall, the campus store, and a 470-car, seven-level parking garage. The Sports Center lies virtually at the geographic center of the campus.
The 300,000 square-foot building connects to Mary Graydon Center to create an enormous hub of student activity. AU students are able to go to class, have dinner, attend a game or concert and stop by the Bridge or The P.O.D. Market convenience store for refreshments without ever leaving the confines of the building. In addition, the facility houses the athletics department and health and fitness offices.
ABOUT JACK I. BENDER - Bender is the co-founder of the Blake Construction company, his son and grandson have been chairmen of the company in years following. Blake Construction was responsible for the construction of the Jack & Dorothy Bender Library and other prominent buildings such as the United States Holocaust Museum, the FBI Building, and the Bethesda Naval Hospital. All the construction was overseen by his son, Howard Bender.
ABOUT STAFFORD H. “POP” CASSELL - Stafford H. “Pop” Cassell coached AU basketball for 11 years and compiled a record of 155-94 from 1937-1942 and from 1946-1952. His teams had six consecutive winning seasons. Cassell was a longtime Athletic Director at American and also coached the football team. However, while his love may have been AU athletics, his biggest contribution to American came later when he became a special assistant to the President of the University, Hurst Anderson.
No outside food or drink is permitted for all Bender Arena events