JMU's soon to be new 88 million basketball arena.

[BDKJMU]

Lower bowl 5500, upper deck 3100. 588 club seats. Practice complex, locker rooms, coaches' offices, sports medicine, strength training, video classrooms. For the big donors VIP Parking, Club Entrance, Arena Club, 8 private suites. Pretty sweet..
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=RWK9BFBJZgQ[/youtube]

[clenz]

Is the student section factored into the lower level capacity?

Does JMU really need a 9K arena?

[YoUDeeMan]

Looks great!

UD is still secretly adjusting our water color drawings of our new facility. We don't like to involve our community...only big donors are allowed to know what is going on, and even they aren't given the big picture.

[dbackjon]

Looks really nice

[BDKJMU]

Is the student section factored into the lower level capacity?

Does JMU really need a 9K arena?

Think so.

Yes. The new capacity will be listed ad 8500. The current Convo Center is a 6,400 seat relic opened in 82'.. JMU doesn't fill it now, but used to pack it in the 80s-early 90s with a much better program and a student body under10k to 12k. The university is now over 20k, and you have to figure JMU will be moving up sometime in the near future.

[BDKJMU]

Lower bowl 5500, upper deck 3100. 588 club seats. Practice complex, locker rooms, coaches' offices, sports medicine, strength training, video classrooms. For the big donors VIP Parking, Club Entrance, Arena Club, 8 private suites. Pretty sweet..
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=RWK9BFBJZgQ[/youtube]

[BDKJMU]

My bad. 88 million according to JMU release. On JMU board some folks were saying cost had gone up from 80 to 100 million.

"HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison University Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne unveiled images and plans on Monday for a new on-campus Convocation Center.

"The Convocation Center will help us grow our JMU brand and place us in a position for relevance on a national stage," said Bourne. "This is a significant initiative in our continued efforts to establish a culture and facilities that will allow our men's and women's basketball programs to compete at the highest level of Division I athletics."

The 8,500-seat structure will play host to a myriad of events annually, including basketball games, public speakers, university convocation and graduation, high school graduation ceremonies, concerts, conventions, trade shows and family entertainment options.

"The new Convocation Center will elevate the national profile of JMU and the Shenandoah Valley," added JMU President Jonathan R. Alger. "Athletics is a significant component of the outward story of James Madison University and this complex is a key priority for us during our capital campaign."

The $88 million dollar arena will be located at the corner of University Boulevard and Carrier Drive, adjacent to the East Campus Dining Hall and the Festival Conference and Student Center.

The Convocation Center will be the largest event space in the Shenandoah Valley and will showcase premium seating areas similar to Bridgeforth Stadium. Such features include a club level, private suites and hospitality spaces, along with a pre-event space for JMU students. The arena will also have cutting-edge technology, including a four-sided video scoreboard and ribbon board.

The basketball operations facility will be attached to the arena and will serve as the home of the JMU men's and women's basketball programs. The operations facility will house first-class offices, locker rooms, training spaces, meeting rooms and a full-court practice facility with six shooting stations.

"This will be a game changer for our program," said women's basketball Head Coach Kenny Brooks. "We compete nationally for recruits and this project will help us secure those top-tier student-athletes."

Men's basketball Head Coach Matt Brady echoed Brooks' comments, stating, "College basketball is all about recruiting and this facility will give us an edge in attracting the highest-caliber student-athletes to JMU. The training spaces will set a new industry standard and allow us to develop our student-athletes to reach their potential on and off the court."

The university has established a fundraising goal of $12 million, and all support must be secured before construction on the project can begin. No formal construction timeline has been set but the university is actively fundraising.

"It's critical that our supporters make commitments so this project becomes a reality," Bourne noted. "Unlike the Bridgeforth Stadium expansion, when we announced a specific construction start date, this project will not begin until we reach our fundraising goal." "
http://jmusports.com/news/2015/4/24/Ath ... 54252.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ASUG8]

Looks great.

When are you guys doing the other half of Bridgeforth?

[BDKJMU]

Looks great.

When are you guys doing the other half of Bridgeforth?

If it was up to me they would have instead made an announcement for the other half of Bridgeforth. After all, the only college sport I really care about is football. An announcement to immediately begin soliciting private and public funding, within 1-2 years soliciting construction bids, within 2-3 years breaking ground, and within 4-5 years completing construction on the other half of Bridgeforth by 2019-2020. After all, I'm sure JMU will have made a move up announcement and either be transitioning up or be fully transitioned up by then. If not there will be an absolute meltdown on the JMU boards. Heck, there's practically a meltdown on there now. Its just been getting worse and worse since summer 2012..

I think an announcement about the 2nd half of Bridgeforth won't come until a moveup announcement, and maybe not until sometime after. Don't see either happening this year. Maybe 2016...

[CAA Flagship]

Very ambitious. But I can't see how you get anywhere near 9k on a weeknight.

[Grizalltheway]

Very ambitious. But I can't see how you get anywhere near 9k on a weeknight.

Build it and they will come. Worked for the Marlins.

[BDKJMU]

Very ambitious. But I can't see how you get anywhere near 9k on a weeknight.

Yeah, I guess. even after a move up and with an improved program. After a move up 8.5k on some Sat games with good/name opponents I guess is doable, But I really don't know, as again I'm not a basketball fan. I'll occasionally check to see how they are doing record wise and will watch if I notice they are on TV, but that's about it.

Also (think in one of the articles above) they plan on using it for other stuff during the year- graduations, concerts, shows, conventions, etc.

Also JMU is building:
"Hotel and conference center proposal approved by council (10/15/14)

.....Hotel Madison, a 205-room facility, will be constructed and operated by dpM Partners using private funding and land leased from JMU. The hotel is expected to cost $30 million, and will be attached to the $10 million Shenandoah Valley Conference Center, which will be funded by the JMU Foundation and eventually subleased to the Foundation once it’s finished....

....The hotel will stand on the corner of South Main Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way, and is slated to be finished by late fall 2016. The project is expected to provide roughly 100 construction-related jobs and about 60 full-time jobs once the hotel and conference center open....

.....In addition to the conference center, JMU will also be funding a $15 million to $16 million 1,000-vehicle parking garage on the corner of South Mason Street and MLK Way. ...."



http://www.breezejmu.org/news/hotel-and ... f6878.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BDKJMU]

Yes, Harriosnburg now has a "Martin Luther King Jr WAY". Last year changed one of the main city streets running beside campus from Cantrell to MLK Way. It makes no sense though. No hookers, pimps, and drug dealers on that street...at least not yet...