The new arena will have a capacity of about 10,000 for basketball and up to 15,000 for other eventsGENSLER
The Univ. of Texas System Board of Regents has "authorized the flagship campus in Austin" to partner with Oak View Group to "build and operate" a $338M multipurpose arena that will be the new home of the UT basketball teams, according to a front-page piece by Ralph Haurwitz of the AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN. The arena, to be constructed at what is now a parking lot just south of Mike A. Myers Track Stadium & Soccer Field, will "replace the Erwin Center, which will be torn down to accommodate expansion of UT's Dell Medical School." UT and the OVG-led ArenaCo are "putting the finishing touches on a 35-year agreement." OVG will lease 6.64 acres for construction, and UT will "own the arena once it's completed." UT President Greg Fenves said that the new arena will have "10,000 seats for basketball and up to 15,000 for concerts and other events." The extra seating capacity "presumably will be walled off in some fashion so that the arena doesn't look partially empty for basketball games." UT will have "control of the new arena for about 60 days a year to accommodate men's and women's basketball games, high school graduations and other school-related or community functions." During that time, UT will also "control concession prices and receive that revenue." The OVG team will be "in charge of the facility the rest of the time." Construction is "scheduled to begin" this summer, with completion "coming in time" for the '21-22 basketball season (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 12/21). In addition to OVG, Live Nation and C3 Presents are part of the ArenaCo team (BIZJOURNALS.com, 12/20).
AUSTIN BUYERS' CLUB: USA TODAY's Steve Gardner noted actor and UT alum Matthew McConaughey has been tabbed as the new venue's "Minister of Culture," which the school says will "help 'create a fan experience unlike any other.'" But UT "didn't make clear what McConaughey's duties would entail." McConaughey is also "invested" in ArenaCo (USATODAY.com, 12/20). OVG CEO Tim Leiweke said McConaughey is "actively involved in the design" of the new arena (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 12/21).
