OPENING FRIDAY, MARCH 6

In the Arena: Sports & Assembly explores how sports have become some of the most powerful and familiar sites of collective gathering in American life.

From packed stadiums and neighborhood bars to national broadcasts and global competitions, sports assemble people at a scale few other institutions can match. Featuring artifacts from iconic sports moments throughout history, this exhibition traces how fans, athletes, and cities turn games into civic rituals rooted in loyalty and shared emotion. It examines how these voluntary gatherings create belonging, transmit tradition, and make victory and loss collective experiences. Across local, national, and international stages, In the Arena reveals sports as spaces where freedom of assembly is loud, visible, and very much alive.

Featured Image: Muhammad Ali “Rumble in the Jungle” robe, courtesy of DePace Sports Museum
photography by Chris Devern

Special Thanks to our Partners

whose generous loans of artifacts and memorabilia bring the story of assembly to life

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