Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 29, 1993 TAG: 9310290107
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
"I must stress this is not preliminary," UVa athletic director Jim Copeland said Thursday. "I wouldn't say it's dead-set, but it does look as if there will be athletic department priorities in the university's capital campaign.
"One of those priorities will be to rebuild University Hall into the best basketball arena in the country. It won't be the biggest, but we think we will do something in here that will be very special. I'm excited about it."
Copeland said the athletic department hopes to raise $22 million through the campaign, including $10 million for the basketball arena and $1.5 million to convert the school's football field at Scott Stadium from artificial turf to grass, possibly as early as next season.
The rest of the money will go for endowed scholarships and lights at Klockner Stadium, home of UVa's soccer and lacrosse teams.
"Regardless of what happens with Title IX down the road," said Copeland, referring to the federal law mandating gender equity, "we're going to need more scholarship money."
Most of UVa's athletic offices are in University Hall, which opened in 1965. A seating capacity of 8,864 for basketball makes it the smallest arena in the ACC.
Copeland said 1,500 seats will be added by lowering the floor by 2 feet and by creating a mezzanine level that will hang over the top row of seats.
"We'll have to have a new roof over the addition," said Copeland, explaining that the current building, which is round, will be contained inside a square frame. "We did not want to lose a season in University Hall, and [the architects] assure us we will not."
There is an approval process that could take eight to 10 months, followed by the fund raising. As a result, no target date has been set for the start of construction.
Copeland said the price tag for the University Hall face lift, including offices, will be $17 million. The $7 million not called for in the capital campaign will come from existing reserves and other sources.
"The estimate for a [new] 15,000-seat arena, which does not include the offices, was $43 million," Copeland said. "We were up at Penn State three weeks and they have a projected 17,000-seat arena, which they think is going to cost $55 million.
"Of that $55 million, $33 [million] is coming from the state. I only know of one arena [the Smith Center at North Carolina] where all the money was raised from contributions, but I don't think it's realistic to think we're going to get state or municipal money for a facility here.
"You also have to consider the cost of operations once you build it. There is a definite risk involved, having a 15,000-seat arena in Charlottesville, Va., which is not a large retail-market area [and] is in competition with other arenas in the state."
Copeland cited six factors in the decision to upgrade University Hall, the first of which was the competitiveness of the men's basketball program. Coach Jeff Jones and his predecessor, Terry Holland, have pointed to the deteriorating facility as a detriment in recruiting.
"To me, the significance of this announcement is the talking's over," Jones said. "It's the biggest thing for the basketball program - the biggest challenge, with the biggest upside - that I can think of. I'm tickled to death."
Copeland said restrooms and walkways would be enlarged and food courts added. Preliminary plans call for the new facade to have considerable glass and to integrate the column effect used for the nearby McCue Center, which houses the football program.
"The whole appearance of this building is worn," said Debbie Ryan, the women's basketball coach at UVa. "My biggest thrill is the possibility of having a window after 17 years. There's going to be a whole lot of windows and open spaces."
Jones compared a rebuilt University Hall to Camden Yards, home of baseball's Baltimore Orioles for the past two years.
"They wanted to have some personality," Jones said. "They wanted to have some character.
by CNB