The Stephen C. O’Connell Center will get a $45 million face-lift next year, UF and the University Athletic Association announced Tuesday.
The UAA will contribute $35 million and UF will finance the rest of the renovation, which is set to begin in March and end in December of 2015, said O’Connell Center Director Lynda Reinhart.
“The scope of the project is going to be gutting the whole building, renovating it with new seats, new club seating and a club lounge,” said Bahar Armaghani, assistant director and project manager for UF’s Office of Planning, Design and Construction.
The renovation will also bring in a new high-definition video board hung in the center as well as an updated sound system.
However, Armaghani said the main renovation will be a prominent entryway facing east toward the James W. “Bill” Heavener Football Complex.
Located between gates one and two, the new entrance will expand into an open circulation area with additional concession stands, ticketing and retail sales areas.
Reinhart said there are currently four entry points but none of them are distinct. She said the funding will give the center a more modernized look.
But not all changes are cosmetic.
Internal improvements like plumbing renovations and electrical rewiring will improve comfort and reduce energy consumption, Reinhart said.
By how much, Reinhart couldn’t say. Project managers have yet to choose a design team that will finalize the sketch and create a more detailed timeline.
Two-time All-American and one-time All-SEC UF swimmer Lindsey McKnight said the center could use the renovation.
“For some of the big dual meets, people end up standing on the sides just because there’s not enough room for seating,” she said.
The 20-year-old UF political science junior said she’s especially looking forward to the new chairs.
“I’ve known people to even bring seat cushions ‘cause they’re sitting there for so long,” she said.
During the 10 months of renovation, no one will be sitting there.
Reinhart said UF is planning to relocate practices and concerts during that time but has yet to secure a space.
The go-to choice would be the Reitz Union, but the two construction timelines overlap.
“We’re working on that,” Reinhart said.
In order to be completed by the December 2015 deadline, the project is slated to begin in March. If the design team agrees, it will begin even earlier, Reinhart said.
“We’re looking at every opportunity that we have to make it as efficient as we can,” she said. “It’s gonna be a great project, and we’re going to have a great product when it’s finished.”
[A version of this story ran on page 1-4 on 6/11/2014 under the headline "$45 million in renovations to the O’Connell Center"]
This is a rendering showing the main renovation expected of the O'Connell Center: a prominent new entrance facing the Heavener Football Complex.
This is a rendering showing how there are plans to have all new seats in the updated center.
This is rendering of what the inside of the O'Connell Center will look like after the planned gutting.
