Key takeaways from the new basketball arena announcement

From longwood.edu

For a long time, the darkest cloud looming over the basketball program at Longwood is that of a facility. While Willett Hall may be a fan favorite, “hey, it’s our dump and we like it!”, it’s inadequate and has been in quite some time. There are the obvious faults its carries, but there are also unseen hurdles the building poses. For example, many student-athletes have 24–7 access to facilities nowadays. Since Longwood Athletics has to share Willett with academics and the broader Longwood community, players can’t even find a safe haven when they want to get up some extra shots or just go somewhere that feels like home.

That changed this week after a $15 million dollar gift from Joan Brock to begin a facility named the Joan Perry Brock Center, which will be located across from Brock Hall on Brock Commons. All jokes aside, the gift is tremendous and creates a plan for a new basketball arena and ends at least 20 years of conversations around the inadequacy of Willett Hall.

The building is already earning a nickname of JPB, a nod to John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville.

So what are the key takeaways from the announcement?

1. JPB, or Dollar Tree Arena if you prefer, will follow similar outlines from the most recent Master Plan and will be located where the current tennis facility is between Willett Hall and the Dining Hall.
2. Brock’s $15 million gift is a foundation for a building that will likely end up costing between $35–45 million dollars. The two newest arenas in the region are at Wofford and Elon. Wofford’s facility cost just north of $43 million and holds 3,400. Elon’s arena holds 5,100 and cost just about $45 million as well. Both facilities are absolutely beautiful and should be the model for what Longwood needs to build.
3. In the press release, the planned size of the arena is going to be 2,500–3,500 seats. While this number has already been scrutinized by Lancer fans on social media, it’s a realistic number that many were also glad to see. Longwood does not need a 5,000 seat arena that’s empty on the regular. A more intimate capacity for a student body that has stayed relatively the same in size is going to be a major plus.
4. Another “model” you’ll hear about is that of Campbell’s Pope Convocation Center and Asheville’s Kimmel Arena. Campbell’s arena is now over a decade old and has proven to be a very valuable facility for the conference. It holds just north of 3,000 fans and also includes a practice facility and athletic offices. All of those would be a major plus for Longwood. Asheville’s Kimmel Arena is also almost a decade old now and holds 3,200 fans. Both arenas have a top concourse and a bowl structure, while the other two arenas mentioned earlier (Wofford, Elon) have deck seating.
5. One arena not mentioned is Coastal Carolina’s HTC Center. The seven-year-old, $35-million arena holds just over 3,200 but shouldn’t be the model for Longwood. It’s kind of a dark dungeon and doesn’t have the same feel as the other four arenas mentioned.
6. One interesting tidbit to remember is that Griff Aldrich just went through this process a bit at UMBC where the Retrievers just opened up a new $85 million arena. He knows how to use it as a recruiting plus and will have some familiarity with the process in general.

Other things to think about:

• Start daydreaming about who Longwood will open the arena with to kick off the 2022–23 season. It’s a sort of, unwritten rule in college basketball that big, usually state, schools head to a mid-major for an arena opening. Wofford opened their new place with a visit from South Carolina (and got North Carolina to come this year) and Elon opened with North Carolina this year. Could Longwood attract Virginia or Virginia Tech to Farmville? Or is a more likely opponent along the lines of VCU, ODU, George Mason, or JMU? Longwood has had a positive relationship with Mason and is expected to head back to Fairfax to take on the Patriots next season.
• While all we have is an exterior composite right now, the building does seem to fit the brick exterior of the rest of the campus and also seems to lend itself to natural lighting. That would be on the fan wish list along with just an enhanced experience in general. Longwood will be able to do so much more just getting away from all the restrictions that Willett causes.
• Real concessions? Souvenir stand? Hospitality suites? 3rd Street Brewing? A lot of doors will be open when a new concourse is built and fans rush in. Many state schools began selling alcohol at games this year and the subject, in general, has become less taboo. Could Longwood follow suit with a new facility?
• What happens to Willett Hall? It seems like Willett will still stand and could it become a practice facility for the basketball teams? It still has to hold academic functions, but Willett being an open space opens the door for some cool ideas.
• What happens to the tennis courts? The good news is this likely also means a new tennis facility and one that can hold tournament competitions. Longwood Tennis is a mess right now in terms of facilities and one central facility would be a huge plus and open a lot of doors for the team. Obviously, that might be a fast track project since construction will begin with the demolition of the old courts. Hopefully, this is a catalyst for a permanent home and not a temporary fix.