Stuart C. Siegel Center

Stuart C. Siegel Center
The STU
Verizon Wireless Arena
Location 1200 West Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia, USA
Broke ground April 1996
Opened May 1, 1999
Owner Virginia Commonwealth University
Operator Virginia Commonwealth University
Surface Hardwood
Construction cost $30.1 million
($39.7 million in 2012 dollars[1])
Architect Marcellus Wright Cox & Smith
Structural engineer Dunbar Milby Williams Pittman & Vaughan
General Contractor Poole & Kent
Capacity 7,617
Tenants
Virginia Commonwealth Rams

Stuart C. Siegel Center is a 190,000-square-foot (18,000 m2) multi-purpose facility on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. The facility's main component is the 7,500-(expandable to 8,000) seat Verizon Wireless Arena. It also served as a student recreational area until the new Cary Street Gym complex was built. It now is used purely for VCU athletics and includes a weight room, auxiliary basketball court, an aerobic studio, and a cafè. The Verizon Wireless Arena hosts Division I level NCAA inter-collegiate athletics and serves as a general-purpose assembly space for special events such as graduations, concerts, receptions, and a variety of competitions (both athletic and non athletic). It is named after Richmond businessman Stuart C. Siegel.

The "arena" opened in 1999 and cost $30.1 million to construct. Its main tenant is the VCU Rams men's basketball team who enjoy one of the nation's best home court winning percentages since moving into the facility and has received the reputation as arguably the toughest place to play in the CAA. The VCU Rams men's basketball team holds the 13th highest Home Court winning percentage in Division I basketball with a winning percentage of .8523[2] The "arena" has also hosted local and state high school basketball tournaments. It is also host to the annual Virginia Regional (formerly VCU/NASA) for the FIRST robotics competition. [3]

Expansion

In 2011, a 3.4 million dollar face lift to the Siegel Center added luxury suites, a 120-club seat balcony, renovated offices and a new lounge, the Tommy J. West Club.[4]

References

  1. ^ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2008. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
  2. ^ http://rpiratings.com/homecourtrec.html
  3. ^ https://my.usfirst.org/myarea/index.lasso?page=event_details&eid=3739&-session=myarea:C77D6405080f222D35kjN3C9A05B
  4. ^ http://www.wtol.com/story/16004379/vcu-unveils-new-luxury-area-at-siegel-center

External links
Basketball arenas of the Colonial Athletic Association