ATHLETICS

New Arena Is Named

The University of Missouri’s new basketball arena will be named Paige Sports Arena, as announced March 19. Currently under construction south of the Hearnes Center, the Paige Sports Arena is a $75 million project, the largest construction project in the history of the University of Missouri-Columbia. It is scheduled for completion on Oct. 1, 2004, in time for the 2004-05 basketball season. The arena is named for Paige Laurie, the daughter of Nancy and Bill Laurie of Columbia. The Lauries donated $25 million toward the project.

“Nancy, Bill and Paige Laurie – Columbia residents and longtime University supporters – made this project possible with the largest private gift ever to the University’s Department of Athletics, earmarked for the construction of this magnificent sports facility,” MU Chancellor Richard Wallace said. “We are grateful for the Lauries’ generosity, and we are delighted to name the building for their daughter, Paige.”

“As supporters of education and athletics, we are proud of our association with the University of Missouri,” said a statement from Nancy and Bill Laurie. “As parents, we are very proud of our daughter, Paige. So we could not be happier that the University would combine those two important parts of our lives in naming this new facility the Paige Sports Arena.

“As residents of Columbia, we are especially pleased to be able to help Mizzou provide this new arena to be enjoyed by students, faculty, alumni, fans and area residents,” the statement continued.

“Certainly, the Paige Sports Arena will be the most visible component of the Mizzou Sports Park,” Mizzou Director of Athletics Mike Alden said. “We thank the Lauries for their unprecedented support, and look forward to many successful seasons of Mizzou basketball in this wonderful arena.”

The Paige Sports Arena was designed in partnership between CDFM2 Architecture and HOK Sport, both of Kansas City, Mo. The state’s largest commercial contractor, J.E. Dunn Construction, is the contractor on the project. Current schedules call for the facility to finish on time and on budget.

Financial backing for the project involves a unique public-private partnership featuring a $35 million contribution from the State of Missouri’s General Assembly through general revenue bonds along with the $25 million private gift. The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, through private gifts, has raised the additional $15 million for the project. No University of Missouri general operating appropriations were used toward the financing of the Paige Sports Arena.

Nancy and Bill Laurie have been avid supporters of the University for many years. In addition to their support of the Tiger Scholarship Fund as well as numerous University academic programs, the Lauries are committed to a variety of charities and endowments in both the Columbia and St. Louis areas.

They are the benefactors of the William and Nancy Laurie Cancer Research Fund at Ellis Fischel Cancer Hospital, the Children’s Hospital Neonatal Transport Team, and The Front Door center for abused women, all in Columbia, as well as St. Louis Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. In addition, the family has endowed the E. Paige Laurie Professorship for the Equine Center at the MU College of Veterinary Medicine, and has provided funding to build the Columbia Performing Arts Center.

The new basketball arena was designed to offer students and fans comfortable seating and a state-of-the-art spectator experience, including exceptionally well-developed sight lines from every seat in the house. When completed, it is expected to rank among the best on-campus college basketball facilities in the nation.

Paige Sports Arena will total 325,000 square feet, with a seating capacity of about 15,000 including private suites and 1,000 “club” seats. A major component of the Paige Sports Arena will be seating for Mizzou students. Plans call for more than 3,000 seats in the lower bowl of the arena to be dedicated to students. Currently, only about 1,000 comparable seats are available in the Hearnes Center. Also included in the Paige Sports Arena will be the University of Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame and prominent displays celebrating the history of Missouri Basketball.

Project Timeline

• Nov. 9, 2000 – MU Board of Curators approves funding plan for new arena
• April 26, 2001 – Missouri House approves HCR-25
• May 16, 2001 – Missouri Senate approves HCR-25
• July 12, 2001 – Governor Holden signs HCR-25
• Dec. 18, 2001 – Laurie Family announced as donors
• Sept. 21, 2002 – Groundbreaking ceremony
• Sept.-Dec., 2002 – Early site package work
• Nov., 2002 – Construction document bid
• Jan., 2003 – Construction bid awarded
• Feb., 2003 – Construction project begins
• March 7, 2004 – Announcement made that new arena court will bear the name of former coach Norm Stewart
• March 19, 2004 – Arena name announced (Paige Sports Arena)
• March 22, 2004 – Topping out ceremony
• Oct. 1, 2004 – Construction to be completed
• Oct.-Nov. 2004 – First games played in arena

Project Overview

• Construction Site – South of Hearnes Center and Memorial Stadium
• Size of Arena - 320,801 GSF
• Total Project Cost – $75 million
• Exterior Appearance – Face of brick, stone and metal panel with areas of glazing and a glass curtain wall
• Seating Capacity –15,061 (60% lower bowl, 40% upper bowl)
• Student Seating – Dedicated student bleacher section behind the west basket of approximately 3,000
• Accessible Accommodations – Will meet or exceed all ADA requirements for seating and access

Facility Amenities

• Private Suites –26
• Club Seating – 1,000 (including a private club lounge area)
• Office Space – Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Athletic Administration and Building Operations
• Support Facilities for Men’s and Women’s Basketball – locker, weight and equipment rooms, practice gym, video classrooms, academic study center
• Hall of Fame Lobby Area – Will showcase MU’s Athletic Hall of Fame and other Tiger athletic traditions
• Spectator Amenities and Support Facilities – Hospitality room, concessions, novelty sales, tickets, etc.

Latest Trivia

• At its peak, the arena's roof is 11 feet, 6 inches taller than the Hearnes Center
• Height of new arena from event level to peak of roof is 117 feet, 9 inches (Hearnes is 110 feet)
• Last row of new arena on sides is 133 feet horizontally to side of court (Hearnes is 134 feet)
• Last row of new arena on sides is about 64 feet vertically to side of court (Hearnes is 79 feet)
• Last row of new arena on ends is 96 feet horizontally to end of court (Hearnes is 123 feet)
• Last row of new arena on ends is 40 feet vertically from end of court (Hearnes is 79 feet)
• The seating bowl of new arena will fit cleanly inside seating bowl of Hearnes

Facts

• 21,600 cubic yards of concrete (2,700-3,000 truck loads)
• 2,006 tons of reinforcing steel
• 18 tons of post tension cable (over 60,000 feet or over 11 miles)
• 1,500 tons of structural steel
• Long span trusses 285 feet long, 12 feet high, 65,000 pounds each
• 566 pieces of structural pre-cast
• 453 pieces of architectural pre-cast
• 104,074 bricks
• 67,934 concrete blocks
• 684 anchor bolts
• 460 doors and frames
• 172 toilet compartments
• 237 lockers
• 743 toilet accessories
• 77,400 square feet of carpet
• 100,000 square feet of metal roof panels
• Communication cable - over 37 miles
• Excavation – 79,000 CY of non rock, 40,000 CY of rock (would fill a football field over 67 feet deep)
• Cranes – 300 ton for trusses. Also 45 ton, 55 ton, 80 ton, 100 ton, 225 ton, and others as needed

Archives | Comments | Home

SUBSCRIPTIONS
Subscribe | Change Your Address | Unsubscribe

Copyright © 2007 — Curators of the University of Missouri
DMCA and other copyright information.
All rights reserved. An equal opportunity/ADA institution.
Published by the Mizzou Alumni Association
Questions? Comments? E-mail comments@mizzoualumni.org

Last Update: March 12, 2007