UNF ARENA THE NEST PROPOSAL

Hassan SmithSierra ShepherdBrian Graham

BACKGROUND ON THE INSTITUTION• The University of North Florida is a public institution established in 1972.• The UNF Arena opened in January 1993 and cost 9.2 million dollars to construct. • UNF’s first class graduated a total of 35 students in 1973• In 1974 it was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.• By the year 1984, UNF began admitting freshman.• In 1995 enrollment exceeded 10,000 and in the year 2000 the school graduated 1,000 students.• UNF began intercollegiate sports in 1983 as a member of the NAIA, and later as member of the NCAA Division 2• The University of North Florida reclassified as a NCAA Division 1 school in 2009.• As of today UNF has 16,000 students currently attending the university.

UNF ARENA OVERVIEW• UNF Arena was built and completed January, 1993.• It is home to the UNF men’s basketball and women’s volleyball team• Two upstairs half court basketball courts• Four racquetball courts• Eight locker rooms• Training room• Kinesiology lab• Athletic Administration and Coaching Staff offices.• Arena capacity is 63000.

DETERMINING NEED• A new hardwood floor• Adding shutters to the lights• Adding a video jumbotron screen• Adding a weight room• Adding a training room• Adding a student lounge• Renovating the locker rooms.

FEASABILLITY• The location of the arena will remain intact but the usage of the

arena will change in some aspects. Due to the birth of the new recreational center, formerly known as the pool, the arena will no longer be used for recreational purposes for the general student body. It will be used strictly by the student athletes, but also allows us to accommodate special events such as graduations, concerts, and alumni functions.

WEIGHT ROOM, TRAINING ROOM, REHABILITATION CENTER

• The renovation is going to consist of many parts having to be moved around, starting with the training room and the weight room. Since recreation is been moved to the new building, we decided that the four racquetball courts in the arena isn’t needed. The training room and weight room are the replacements for the racquetball courts. With the racquetball courts gone, there is enough space to build an input a weight room and training room next to each other in order to better accommodate our student athletes.

STUDENT LOUNGE/ LOCKER ROOM• We are also going to increase accommodation for the student athletes by incurporating a student lounge and making it a bigger space that’s more relaxing to the student athletes. In order to incorporate a lounge, we’ve decided to take the classroom that’s inside the arena and turn it into the lounge. The lounge is going to consist of multiple couches, a big screen TV, gaming systems, fuss-ball table, pool table, and a refrigerator. The lounge will become a safe haven for the student athletes to be able to get away from the world. In doing so, the lounge will create a relaxed atmosphere for the student athletes which will allow their minds to be at ease allowing them to be more efficient on and off the field/court.• The renovation of the locker rooms is going to consist of making sure that everything is up to par and nothing is broken, damaged, or outdated. Also, adding upgrades that are more appealing to recruits.

INSIDE THE ARENAIn order for the appeal of our athletics to take the next step the hardwood floor, the light system, and the Jumbo throne need to all be replaced. The arena floor is constantly being used, whether it’s for a basketball or volleyball game, recreations, or summer camps, the floor basically has worn out over time. The arena is due for a new one so adding a new hardwood floor to the arena is essential to the performance and success of the student athletes. By also replacing the Jumbotron, changing the light system, and adding shutters to the arena isn’t necessarily going to affect the performance or success of the student athletes, but it’s likely going to give the athletes a sense of pride to play better and win more games, which will later generate more revenue for athletics to operate with. The Jumbotron we had in mind is going to be similar to that of Northern Kentucky University being that we're in the same conference.

VS

NORTHERN KENTUCKY AND NORTH FLORIDA• Northern Kentucky began its NCAA Division 1 transition in the fall of 2008 and began Division 1 play in the fall of 2012.• North Florida began its NCAA Division 1 transition in 2005 and began Division 1 play in the fall of 2010.• Northern Kentucky and the University of North Florida are members of the Atlantic Sun conference.• Northern Kentucky has a student enrollment of 15,000 while the University of North Florida has 16,000 students• Northern Kentucky was established in 1968 and UNF was established in 1972.• They are both public institutions.

NORTHERN KENTUCKY• In 2008, Northern Kentucky opened their 64 million dollar arena known as BB&T Arena.• BB&T Arena seats 9,400 people.• Northern Kentuckys mens and womens basketball teams, and womens volleyball teams play their games inside the arena.• Northern Kentucky’s old gym seated 1,800 people but has new renovated locker roomsand is • being used as a practice facility.

FINANCIAL COSTS To install the basketball court flooring, prices run from $85,000-

$95,000, depending on how much work painting the logos require. The scoreboard will cost anywhere from $850,000-$1,000,000, similar to NKU’s video scoreboard. The new light system is going to cost at least $200,000 including the shutters. The biggest project of all is having to break down the walls of the racquetball courts in order to build a two-story mini health facility inside the arena to better accommodate our student athletes. Also in regards to the rehabilitation center that will be replacing the racquetball courts came from the idea of the trainers at Kennesaw State in 2011. The project can cost anywhere from $2- $2.5 million including the addition of certain equipments that make up a rehabilitation center, training room, and a weight room. The total price of the entire renovation shouldn’t be no more than $4 – $5 million.

Projected Cost

Court Flooring ScoreBoard Light System Training Room Weight room

HOW THE MONEY IS OBTAINED• Student Fees• Boosters• Alumni• Guarantee Games• Basketball Revenue• Major Donations

PROS AND CONS

o Pros:• Will build a better game time atmosphere• Create convenience to the athletes and coaches that are housed in the arena • Help teams train for success on the court• Help win over recruits, from competing schools• Improve the wellbeing of our student athletes• Won't need too much construction done for project

o Cons• Due to the equipment we want to bring in, the cost of project will be costly

IMPACT We know this project will help bring a positive impact to the

university. For one, it will help prepare all teams to perform on the court, because with the new weight room and rehab center, athletes will be in top shape to be successful in competition. And that will cause the programs to win over recruits, which will help with the success of the teams as well. The lounge will be a convenience for athletes so they can relax whenever they need to or just have fun with teammates. And getting shutters for lights and a new scoreboard will assist in making the experience as a fan even better. This will result in a bigger attendance rate. And will get more students wanting to come to UNF to be a part of the experience. But one possible future problem of this project is that we will end up spending so much money on the rehab center, and it won't be utilized enough to be worth the purchase of all the equipment.