Walter Pyramid, Indoor sports arena at California State University in Long Beach, USA
The Walter Pyramid is a 4,000-seat indoor arena on the campus of California State University, Long Beach. Each side of its square base measures 345 feet (105 m) and the apex rises 190 feet (58 m), about 18 stories. Its four triangular faces are clad in dark-blue corrugated aluminum, with a band of dark rectangular elements along the bottom edge above the lawn.
The Walter Pyramid opened on November 30, 1994, with a Long Beach State men's basketball game against the Detroit Titans, televised on ESPN before a standing-room crowd of 5,021; Long Beach won 71-64. Don Gibbs designed it and the Nielson Construction Company of San Diego built it for about $22 million. On March 5, 2005, it was renamed for Mike and Arline Walter after their $2.1 million donation; in November 2025 the CSU Board of Trustees approved the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid name.
All Long Beach State teams that play home games here are nicknamed "the Beach", a name adopted after the 49ers nickname was dropped. The arena also hosts the World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championships, known in Portuguese as the Mundials, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling sold out its March 25, 2018 show within minutes.
The arena sits on the California State University, Long Beach campus, where each side of its square base measures 345 feet (105 m) and the apex rises 190 feet (58 m). It holds 4,000 seats, so crowds for volleyball and basketball fill it closely. Events are ticketed and scheduled by the university and outside promoters, so check the host's listing before travelling.
It is one of only four mathematically true pyramid-style buildings in the United States, alongside the Summum Pyramid in Salt Lake City, Luxor Las Vegas and the Memphis Pyramid. Each side of its perimeter measures 345 feet (105 m) and it rises 190 feet (58 m), about 18 stories, above the campus.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,083 contributors worldwide.