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Feb. 27, 2004
by Patrick Schuermann
The University of Virginia broke ground nearly a year ago on John Paul Jones Arena and passersby can already see the outline of the Cavaliers’ future home taking shape. The University of Virginia’s commitment to excellence is extending to the construction of the new arena. The University aims to have their new facility be one of the best in the nation. UVa chose Barton Malow as it’s construction management firm – the same firm that handled the renovations at the Carl Smith Center, construction of the Baltimore Orioles’ Camden Yards at Oriole Park, the Baltimore Ravens’ M&T Bank Stadium, and the Cincinnati Bengals’ Paul Brown Stadium.
John Paul Jones Arena and University Hall will have litte in common. The new arena will feature approximately 15,000 seats and 12, 000 of them will be as close, or closer, to the court as all 8,457 seats in University Hall. John Paul Jones Arena will also feature two-and-a-half practice courts, training spaces and taping stations, coaches’ offices and premium seats – all with a Jeffersonian exterior.
Dick Laurance, the University’s liaison for John Paul Jones Arena, expanded on the building’s design, “That was a challenge for the architects – to make it look Jeffersonian, and it does. The exterior is beautiful. It will look like the University of Virginia. It will blend in, and it won’t be one of the those ‘blah’ arenas that was just stuck in.”
Among the “wow factors” in the new arena is a feature luxury suite owners will enjoy. The new parking garage will be connected directly to the suite level, so patrons will not have to face the elements on their way to support the Cavaliers. John Paul Jones Arena will house a museum, honoring Virginia Basketball teams and players of the past. The arena will also feature a state-of-the-art video and sound system with a replay video board.
What most people do not comprehend is the large scale of the project. The construction goes far beyond building a premier arena and practice facility. The University is also building a new parking garage and the North Grounds Connector road to better handle game day traffic and to create a new entrance to the Grounds. Additionally, in order to accommodate for the amount of runoff rainwater that can potentially accumulate at the arena site, the University initiated the Dell Storm Water Management Project. This project entailed building a retaining pond upstream of John Paul Jones Arena, at the Dell Park, across from the Newcomb Hall parking garage. The Dell Project is designed to catch excess rainwater, and prevent runoff water from filling up the arena site.
The arena is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2006. The inclement weather has pushed back the completion of many University construction projects by as much as two-and-a-half months. However, with the pre-cast concrete supports for the seating sections set for delivery in April, John Paul Jones Arena has only been set back a couple of weeks by the weather. You can keep track of the latest developments in construction by checking the Live Arena Web Cam.