Friday, May 30 at 4:30 p.m., 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 University President John T. Casteen III and Athletic Director Craig Littlepage.
The new arena is a "milestone for our community," University President John T. Casteen, III said. "The arena will do everything U-Hall does and do it better."
The University was able to gather the necessary $129.8 million for the construction of the new arena, the majority of which came from personal donations, Virginia Athletic Foundation Director Dirk Katstra said.
"We raised over $75 million from private sources," he said.
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 single largest private donation -- totaling $35 million -- came from Paul Tudor Jones II, who chose to name the arena in honor of his father, John Paul Jones. The younger Jones is a member of the University class of 1976. His father graduated from the Law school in 1948.
"The University of Virginia is top in so many fields, it doesn't make sense to settle for second best," Jones said. "My father's always been a U.Va. fanatic. The naming pays homage to someone at this University with indelible spirit."
At the groundbreaking, Paul Tudor Jones spoke of the "connection" between his father and the naval hero of Revolutionary War by the same name. He said he hoped the first John Paul Jones' famous words, "I have not yet begun to fight," will appear somewhere in the area.
The arena will contain 15,000 seats, with 2,600 parking spaces in the immediate arena area. A connector road from the Route 250 bypass to North Grounds also will be built.
By contrast, University Hall seats 8,400 and has 2,350 parking spaces.
The new parking garage on Ivy Road will increase the number of spaces in the arena area to 3,800.
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," Laurance 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 40 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."
Though many of the current athletes will graduate before the arena becomes functional in three years, both men's basketball coach Pete Gillen and women's basketball coach Debbie Ryan said the arena will be a powerful recruitment tool before then.
The roads surrounding the new arena site will close at different points of time throughout the summer. Massie Road was closed through June 30, and Copeley Road was blocked from June 30 through July 14, according to Parking and Transportation Director Rebecca White.
The John Paul Jones Arena is expected to be complete by the summer of 2006.
Staff reports contributed to this article.
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