Construction begins on new Auburn arena

It may not be the first day of a new era — at least not yet.

But it’s the first step toward a new day for Auburn basketball.

Construction began Monday on Auburn’s new basketball arena. The project received final approval from AU’s Board of Trustees last month; the arena is scheduled to open in July of 2010, replacing Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

By mid-afternoon Monday, the future site of the new arena was swarming with workers, construction trailers and heavy machinery.

The 9,600-seat arena is budgeted to cost $92.5 million, though AU athletics facilities planning director Randy Byars says the job may come in under budget.

The project’s schedule calls for 720 days of construction.

The arena is being built near the intersection of Wire Road and Roosevelt Drive, northwest of Beard-Eaves and adjacent to the university’s new dorms, which are slated to open in August 2009.

The new arena, which does not yet have a name, will host the men’s and women’s basketball teams for games, practices, weight-lifting and meetings. It will also include the university’s ticket office, the athletic department’s Lovelace Museum, a retail store for AU-branded merchandize and more.

| 737-2561