Univ. of Florida officials yesterday announced that they are "putting off the ambitious renovation of the O’Connell Center by a year," according to a front-page piece by Jeff Schweers of the GAINESVILLE SUN. Construction on the school's basketball and multipurpose arena was "scheduled to begin on the 35-year-old O’Dome in March after the end of the regular basketball season." UF Assistant VP/Public Affairs & Media Relations Janine Sikes said, "All I can tell you is they began to reconsider the turnaround, which was very quick, and costs were rising, and we ended up with a new management team. It just seemed like an opportunity to step back and look at it again, and that's what we're doing." Sikes added that UF "hopes to have a new timeline" on the renovation in the next six-to-eight weeks (GAINESVILLE SUN, 2/26). In Orlando, Jordan McPherson noted all athletic events that "normally occur in the O’Connell Center -- including basketball, volleyball, gymnastics and swimming and diving -- are expected to take place next season" (ORLANDOSENTINEL.com, 2/25). In Jacksonville, Garry Smits notes construction of UF's new indoor football practice facility "will not be affected" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 2/26).
CUPBOARD IS BARE? SB NATION's Andy Hutchins noted it is "possible that Florida simply doesn't have" the projected $60M to "cover a renovation in full at this point." Sources said that UF was "struggling to get all of the money in for the project in recent months." Hutchins wrote the school's "aggressive timeframe" for a renovation "was going to be an issue if anything went wrong, and, whether or not the money is the ultimate reason for the delay, a change in contractors would probably be enough to throw a tight timeline out of whack." UF still "badly needs a 'new' O'Connell Center, and will still make it happen," but this "is a setback" (SBNATION.com, 2/25).
