THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 23, 1996 TAG: 9608230285
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: 83 lines
The University of Virginia will get a new basketball arena and an expanded football stadium if athletic director Terry Holland gets his way.
Holland disclosed Thursday he is recommending a new 15,000-seat arena for basketball and a 20,000-seat expansion of Scott Stadium.
Holland said a timetable has not been set, but he hopes both projects could begin simultaneously.
The university has been debating for years whether to build a basketball arena or to refurbish University Hall.
Basketball coach Jeff Jones had recommended reworking University Hall because it could be done much quicker.
Holland, though, said it would be better to build a new arena instead of pouring money into an out-dated building that eventually would have to be replaced.
``You can safely say that (building a new arena) is what we are planning to do,'' Holland told a group of ACC media.
``I can't tell you if it will be 10 years or five years, but I'd like to think it would be somewhere between those two dates.''
Holland said the new arena would be built near the site of University Hall, which would be retained and used for office space.
Holland said the two projects would not be ``put on the board'' until substantial donations of between $20 million and $35 million were committed.
The entire construction would have to be paid by contributions or revenue generated by the athletic department since no public funds can be used.
The estimated cost of the new arena is between $40 and $50 million. The stadium expansion would cost at least another $35 million.
``That is a sizable commitment, but we have already had some people who have expressed interest,'' Holland said.
``It literally could happen within the next few months and then we could establish a timetable. But certain things have to fall into place and, frankly, we could still be sitting here next spring saying the same thing.''
Holland, who took over as athletic director last July, has proved to be a very efficient fund-raiser, however.
The school already has reached its financial goal this year for the Student Aid Foundation, the earliest in history.
``I have been to more black-tie affairs in the last year than I had my entire life,'' Holland said.
``But it has been a terrific year and I am more optimistic than ever that this (new arena and stadium expansion) could happen.''
In addition to contributions, Holland said he would consider other financing options such as permanent seat licenses, commerical sponorships and advertisements.
``We will move slowly in this area if we needed to put someone's logo on the arena floor,'' he said.
``That is something that would have to be considered at the high level.''
University officials also must accept Holland's recommendation to launch both projects simultaneously.
``I think we should go after the whole ball of wax at once instead of putting one of them off,'' he said.
``We need them both yesterday, as opposed to tomorrow.''
University Hall was built in 1964 and its 8,400-seating capacity is the smallest in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Holland said he did not believe an arena larger than 15,000 seats would be feasible because of the school's location.
``There would be times we could fill a 20,000-seat arena but those times are not enough to justify building that size of arena,'' he said.
The only stadiums in the league smaller than Scott are at Duke and Wake Forest.
Virginia already has sold more than 25,000 season tickets for this year.
``The key in this business is not falling so far behind (other league schools) that you can't make up the ground,'' Holland said.
``Certainly the enthusiasm being shown now through fund-raising and ticket sales (means) that we are in good shape and not losing any ground.
``But there are many games that not all of our fans can attend.''
He said the current facilities have not hindered coaches from recruiting top prospects, but that may not continue in the future.
Holland also said minor sports would benefit from both projects.
``The idea of increasing seating for both major sports would be to create funding for our other 22 sports that do not have the ability to produce revenue themselves,'' Holland said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Holland by CNB