Board approves preliminary plans for arena

VMDO Architects

Construction of the new basketball arena is set to begin in December and be completed in 2006.

By Matt Kelly

The U.Va. Board of Visitors’ Buildings and Grounds Committee gave tentative approval to plans for the new basketball arena at its Sept. 17 meeting.

Groundbreaking for the $128 million, 15,000-seat arena on a site across Massie Road from University Hall is set for December, with construction to be complete in fall 2006. The arena will have seating in three levels, with the center level featuring 20 premium suites.

Much of the board’s discussion focused on the cost of installing rest rooms in suites. The committee examined three options: no toilets in any suites, toilets in all suites, or toilets in six specific units.

Putting toilets in all the units would widen the span of the building and add $3.2 million to the total construction bill, said architect Robert W. Moje of VMDO Architects.

In the end, the board members tentatively chose none of the options, instead choosing to include toilets in the four corner suites, which would not expand the arena’s width. But the committee will seek input from the arena advisory committee before presenting the plans to the full board for final approval in October.

The arena committee will also review plans for reducing the visibility of empty seats in the arena’s upper reaches during events. Board members considered three options, which included having the upper concourse lights on a separate circuit, so that section can be darkened. A second plan calls for a flexible fiberglass curtain to screen out the vacant seats for $500,000. And a third plan would feature seat sections that could be retracted to the wall, leaving an open concourse on the upper level for $750,000.

In other business, Vice President for Finance Yoke San Reynolds told the committee of problems with the Alderman Road first-year dormitories, including aging infrastructure and utilities, concrete deterioration and a need for differently configured spaces. The University’s options include renovation, extensive renovation with more program space, demolition and replacement with more modern structures, and a combination of options. The work will likely be financed with an increase in housing rates, Reynolds said.