The main entryway to the Pyramid, pictured on Nov. 18, remains closed on campus. The signage will soon be changed to LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid as part of the university’s new 12-year partnership. Jorge Hernandez | Long Beach Current
The LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid, formerly the Walter Pyramid, remains singularly significant to the south Long Beach skyline and will now net the school another $8.5 million.
The 12-year partnership that Long Beach State enters into with LBS Financial provides The Beach with upfront funds for immediate use, once the college decides which needs are most pressing.
“We are in the process of evaluating the needs across all of our 19 sports,” LBSU athletic director Bobby Smitheran said. “We will then determine the best usage that has the greatest impact both in the long and short term.”
The naming rights deal was approved by the CSU Board of Trustees in a unanimous vote on Nov. 20, following the agreement’s first announcement on Nov. 7.
LBS Financial was founded in 1935 as the Long Beach School District Employees Federal Credit Union. They have eight branch locations and currently service over 140,000 members.
The Campus Activities Fund is scheduled to receive $850,000. This funding would go toward transportation, including campus shuttles and centers such as the Student Recreation Wellness Center, as well as programs such as Student Life and Development and the ASCEND program.
The collegiate sports recruiting landscape has shifted in the Name, Image and Likeness era, meaning mid-major universities like Long Beach State must have deep pockets to attract top athletic talent to the Beach.
“We have a number of opportunities throughout our facilities to improve how our student-athletes utilize their respective facility, as well as how our fans experience our facilities in terms of amenities and the in-game experience,” Smitheran said.
While the bulk of the funding is expected to go toward athletic scholarships, the Pyramid’s infrastructure has been called into question when the forecast calls for rain.
The Pyramid recently began leaking from its roof on Nov. 14, forcing women’s volleyball to hold their senior night and final regular season home game at the Gold Mine in the Kinesiology Building.
The Gold Mine, roughly the size of a high school gym, played host to five home games for men’s volleyball and both basketball programs early in 2025 following a similar roof leak.
Representing Beach Building Services, Capital Development Project manager Melissa Soto told the Current they are “in the final stages of a comprehensive, multi-year study to explore long-term, cost-effective options for addressing the aging LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid roof.”
LBSU women’s volleyball played host in the Pyramid this past week for the Big West Conference tournament, falling in the semifinals to eventual champion Cal Poly on Nov. 28.
“While leaks remain a challenge during inclement weather, our facilities management and development teams have strengthened coordination,” Soto said.
Soto said although inclement weather continues to cause leaks, their facilities management and development teams are streamlining collaboration efforts.
“[By] implementing new processes, communication channels, and event-day protocols [we] improve our ability to respond quickly, protect student-athletes, and maintain operations and the fan experience whenever possible,” Soto said.
Officially opening on Nov. 30, 1994, the Pyramid’s blue hue blends with Long Beach’s trademark and traditionally sunny skies. Believed to be the largest space-frame structure in North America, the ‘Mid towers 18 stories high and extends 345 feet on each side of its perfectly square base.
It was named the Walter Pyramid on March 5, 2005, in honor of former Dean of the College of Business Mike Walter and his wife, Arline.
The home of men’s and women’s volleyball and basketball, the Walters’ $2.1 million donation was the largest gift in LBSU Athletics history at the time.
“For such a unique and complex, 31-year-old iconic structure, we are examining a broad range of architectural and engineering solutions,” Soto said.
Brief timeline of recent leakages and other Pyramid infrastructure issues:
2021: A consistently leaky roof forces CSULB to get an estimate on the cost to fully repair the roof–to the tune of a reported $55 million.
Jan. 16, 2025: Part of the suspended ceiling over the loading dock on the south entrance of the Pyramid collapsed, causing the facility to shut down.
Jan. 29, 2025: Main work on all the entrances was completed, normal operations resumed.
Nov. 14, 2025: The Pyramid leaks from its roof, one week after the sponsorship deal with LBS Financial was announced, leading to a name change.
Nov. 20, 2025: Coinciding with the formal sponsorship declaration, another leak forces women’s basketball to move its matchup against the University of San Francisco into the Gold Mine.
Ethan Brown is a senior at Long Beach State, majoring in Communication Studies and minoring in Journalism. He is an assistant news editor at the Long Beach Current. He also holds a position as a peer mentor in the Communication Tutoring Center on campus. He plans on pursuing a Mundus Masters degree in Journalism, Media and Globalization in Denmark after graduation.