The Stephen C. O’Connell Center may soon get a $50 million renovation, pending approval from UF’s Board of Trustees at its meeting Thursday.
The board will vote on whether the university should pay $10 million for the facelift. The University Athletic Association would solicit the rest of the money, UF spokesman Steve Orlando said.
The proposed renovations would include a new entrance, a club space and more concession stands and gift stores, he said. The arena’s infrastructure would also be redone, more video boards installed and the bleachers replaced with permanent seating.
Orlando said the university would support the makeover, because the O’Connell Center is also used for educational purposes. He said the proposed $10 million would not come from state funds or tuition.
Orlando said there is no timetable set for the completion of the project if it is passed, because it relies heavily on fundraising.
The O’Connell Center was completed in 1980 and renovated in 1998 with a new roof and updated sound and lighting systems, according to the UF Foundation website. Other improvements came in 1999 and included upgrades to the restrooms.
Stephen C. O’Connell was UF’s president from 1967 to 1973, according to the website, and the arena was dedicated in his honor in 1981.
“The O’Connell Center name is going to remain,” Orlando said. “There are no plans to change
it.”
Computer and electrical engineering senior and Rowdy Reptiles president Jake Sillick, 24, said he is concerned the permanent seating would restrict the amount of people who fit in the lower-level student section.
“We have a unique seating arrangement by being on the sidelines,” Sillick said. “We are so close to the action — I don’t want that to change because of this.”
Sillick is excited about redoing the concourse, he said, because it could use some orange and blue to liven it up.
Doug DeMichele, a professor in UF’s College of Health and Human Performance, wrote in an email that he thinks renovation opportunities are great for the university’s athletes because they get to play in the best facilities possible.
“UF should explore facility expansion that will support the Gator athletes as well as enhance the game experience for the spectators and loyal boosters,” he wrote.
The UAA recently funded a $4.3 million expansion project that renovated the gymnastics practice facility at the O’Connell Center, according to Alligator archives.
Sillick said the overall makeover is necessary, and he is happy about the proposed renovation.
“This is going to give everyone the nicest place to watch basketball,” he said.
