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Kezar Pavilion, located adjacent to Kezar Stadium, is an indoor arena in the southeast corner of Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, United States (US). Built in 1924, the Pavilion seats 4,000 people and is owned and operated by the City of San Francisco. The venue is home to the Academy of Art Urban Knights (NCAA Division II) and the annual San Francisco Pro-Am tournament. It was previously home to the San Francisco Dons (NCAA Division I), Santa Clara Broncos (NCAA Division I), San Francisco Pilots (ABA), San Francisco Rumble (ABA) and San Francisco City Cats (ABA).
In 2007 the San Francisco Bay Bombers and roller derby returned to the pavilion. Kezar was not only used by the Bombers for home season games, but the team also held tryouts in the building. In 2011 the Bay Area Derby Girls hosted their first double-header at the pavilion.
In 2006 Kezar Pavilion became the home of ChickFight female professional wrestling tournaments, and San Francisco Pro Wrestling company Fog City Wrestling secured the Kezar pavilion as their new home in 2008 due to an increase in demand.
As of 2013, Kezar is also a venue for San Francisco high school basketball games. The arena has accommodated numerous different sports, ranging from middle school volleyball to professional boxing. The versatility of the arena means that the differing requirements of various sports can be met, from professional basketball game to recreational indoor soccer. Kezar was discussed as a possible badminton or table tennis venue, for the purpose of training or qualifying, for San Francisco's 2012 Summer Olympics bid.
There are no league tryouts for the San Francisco Pro-Am. There is an open-roster policy all season long if the head coach wants to add players. Coaches for each team hand select players for their teams. The season begins in June and ends in August. Games are played Monday-Thursday and are all played at 8:00PM. NBA players in the Pro-Am have included Steph Curry, Aaron Gordon, Jason Kidd, and Jason Richardson. WNBA players to play in the women's league have included Devanei Hampton, Christy Hedgpeth, and Jennifer Azzi. Azzi was the head coach of the women's basketball team at the University of San Francisco from 2010 to 2016.
The Pro-Am is an opportunity for professional players to interact with fans and also to improve their game. Many professional players come to the Pro-Am to train and play in a different environment than they are used to. The San Francisco Summer League Pro-Am awards MVP's (Most Valuable Player) and has a playoff format at the end of the season. The championship series is a best of 3 series, with the league champion is the first to win two games. The games operate under most professional basketball guidelines, with a 24-second shot clock. The quarter length is 10 minutes, as opposed to 12 in the NBA or WNBA. Each team has 5 timeouts per game, with one allowed if the game goes into overtime. The team with the best record in their respective league wins the regular season. The playoffs are made up of 5 teams. The winner of the regular season has a first round bye.
Many local college and high school players have participated in the San Francisco Pro-Am. Players include former Saint Ignatius players Kenny Hatch and Stephen Domingo, Archbishop Mitty High School's Aaron Gordon, and Serra High School's Henry Caruso. The San Francisco Pro-Am is highly popular among players trying to develop into better players and gain attention from NBA or international organization scouts.
The 2017 summer season champions was team Bay Pride, led by head coaches Al Gordan and Frank Williams. Bay Pride beat Dream Team in the best of 3 series. Dream Team featured the 2017 San Francisco Pro-Am MVP, Juan Anderson.
The 2017 men's regular season standings were:
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