On March 14, 1940, Coach Bill Reinhart of the George Washington University basketball team was critical of the design: there were too many seats behind the backboards and not enough on the sidelines. On March 20, the architect, Joe Harry Lapish, responded to the criticism by stating that the arena would be able to house between 6,500 and 7,000 basketball spectators including 4,500 to 5,000 highly desirable seats on the sidelines.
On March 14, 1940, Coach Bill Reinhart of the George Washington University basketball team criticized the arena's design, stating there were too many seats behind the backboards and not enough on the sidelines. On March 20, architect Joe Harry Lapish responded by asserting that the arena would accommodate between 6,500 and 7,000 spectators, including 4,500 to 5,000 desirable seats on the sidelines.