Friday, May 30 at 4:30 pm, a groundbreaking ceremony kicked off the construction of the University's new John Paul Jones Arena. The new facility will replace University Hall as a site for athletic events, convocations and other large student gatherings.
The ceremony was held where center court will be located when the stadium is finished. Speakers included President John T. Casteen and Athletic Director Craig Littlepage.
The University was able to gather the necessary $129.8 million for the construction of the new arena. The majority of the money was acquired from personal donations, said Dirk Katstra director of the Virginia Athletic Foundation.
"We raised over $75 million from private sources," Katstra said.
The single largest private donation -- totaling $35 million -- came from Paul Tudor Jones; the arena is named in honor of Jones' father. The younger Jones is a member of the University class of 1976. His father graduated from the law school in 1948.
Funds also were taken from students' athletics fees, which are included in tuition.
"The amount of money taken from the athletics fees is fairly insignificant compared to the money given by the private donors," Katstra said.
The arena will contain 15,000 seats and there will be 2,600 parking spaces in the immediate arena area. A connector road from the route 250 bypass to north grounds also is being built. University Hall seats 8,400 and has 2,350 parking spaces. The new parking garage on Ivy Road will increase the number of spaces to 3,800 spaces in the arena area.
The new arena will have a Jeffersonian exterior with red brick walls and white columns, said Dick Laurance, director of the John Paul Jones Arena Project.
"The facility will have 2 1/2 practice courts, coaches' offices, and training rooms," Laurance added.
University Hall contained only one court, which caused complications when scheduling programs and practices.
"Now men and women can practice at the same time even if there is an event going on," he said.
Among the improvements over the old arena are a state of the art score board and video boards.
University Hall is being replaced after forty years of use by the University. The stadium has since become outdated, Laurance said, but will not be torn down.
"The amenities were just not there," he said. "Even the restrooms were too small."
The roads surrounding the new arena site will close at different points of time throughout the summer. Massie Road is closed currently and will not reopen until June 30. The next scheduled closing is Copeley Road, which will be blocked from June 30 until July 14, according to Becca White, director of parking and transportation.
"The arena was designed by VMDO, based out of Charlottesville, and Ellerbe Beckett which is based out of Kansas City," Laurance said.
The John Paul Jones Arena is expected to be complete by the summer of 2006, Laurance said.
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