Indiana Univ.'s "planned multimillion-dollar renovation of Assembly Hall hit 'a significant milestone'" Friday as the school's BOT "approved the capital improvements project, expected to cost" between $35-40M, according to Zach Osterman of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR. Physical work on the basketball arena will begin April 1 and "continue through next basketball season." The building is "expected to be fully completed" in time for the '16-17 season. A gift from Indianapolis-based philanthropist Cindy Simon Skjodt "covering the associated costs was announced last December by the university." Assembly Hall will be "renamed Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall once the renovations are completed, to honor her gift." The project has "progressed through several phases already, and most of the designs are already in place." Indiana AD Fred Glass on Friday said that some "subtle tweaks have been made to IU's plans, including replacement of all of the seats inside of Assembly Hall and the addition of escalators in the north lobby of the arena." Osterman noted original renderings "only called for escalators to be placed in the south lobby." The "major goals of the renovation -- including suite-type seating behind the south end zone, renovated and additional bathrooms and concession areas, improvements to the infrastructure of the building and an added entryway to the south lobby -- remain the same" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 12/6).
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: In Austin, Kirk Bohls cites a source as saying that the Univ. of Texas is "strongly considering putting the new basketball arena in the parking lot south of Mike A. Myers Stadium that sits across the street from Royal-Memorial Stadium." It is "still early in the process to find a new location once the Erwin Center is demolished to make way for the medical school." But Texas men's AD Steve Patterson said that he would "like to have the decision made within a year." Bohls notes UT is "also considering an arena that seats between 10,000 and 12,000" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 12/8).
