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Klotsche Center

3409 N. Downer Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53211
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The J. Martin Klotsche Center is the home of Panther volleyball, women’s basketball, and indoor track and field.
 
Opened in 1977, the Klotsche Center has been given a number of new looks over its nearly 40 years of existence. A refinished playing floor complements new video boards and LED boards that were installed for the 2013 season. During the summer of 2025, the facility underwent an entire seating upgrade with new chairback and bleacher seating installed throughout the facility.
 
A much bigger project wrapped up in the spring of 2006. Along with the work that created the brand-new Pavilion adjacent to the Klotsche Center, the existing arena now has air conditioning, a new sound system, and concessions areas. In addition, fans attending matches at the Klotsche Center can park in the 600-car Pavilion parking garage and enter the building without ever going outside.
 
Those latest projects are just the most recent major pieces of work done to upgrade the home of Panther Athletics. The arena was also renovated prior to the 1998-99 school year, with that $2 million project including the addition of comfort and chairback seating. In 1996, new wood flooring and a new indoor track were added to the Klotsche Center.
 
With accommodations for up to 3,500 spectators for a sporting event, the Klotsche Center can hold approximately 2,500 fans for volleyball matches. The largest crowd ever to see a sporting event at the Klotsche Center was 5,015 when the Milwaukee men’s basketball team faced Butler in 2002, while the record for a volleyball crowd at the Klotsche Center is 1,581 set when the Panthers battled No. 5 Stanford in the 2024 season opener. The Panthers have also drawn more than 3,000 fans on multiple occasions for women’s basketball games.
 
The Milwaukee volleyball program has experienced nothing but success at the Klotsche Center for the better part of the last two decades. The Panthers have logged 10 unbeaten conference records on its home court and also posted a school-record 33-match home winning streak from 1996-99.
 
The Klotsche Center has been the site for a number of league championship events, including the 2006 Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championship. The Panthers knocked off UIC in the title game to earn the second NCAA Tournament berth in program history. The on-campus facility has been the site of a number of high school events and has hosted several celebrities and dignitaries. In August 2002, the Klotsche Center played host to a game involving the Yugoslavian National Basketball team, which won the World Basketball Championships that summer, and NBA star Vlade Divac. President George W. Bush also made an appearance at the Klotsche Center in August 2002.