Pauley want a renovation?

Plans to renovate Pauley Pavilion are as old as the structure itself, dating back to the building’s opening in 1965.

Since that time, Pauley Pavilion has played host to a multitude of events, 38 UCLA national championship teams, numerous orientation and commencement ceremonies and, most recently, the 2009 Spring Sing. More than four decades since Pauley’s doors first opened, UCLA has relaunched the prospect of revamping the storied arena.

On Monday at a public announcement held on Nell and John Wooden Court, UCLA officials introduced the Campaign of Champions, the $100 million fund-raising venture to renovate Pauley Pavilion. So far, $52.5 million have been raised through donations and other private sponsors.

The total cost of the proposed project is $185 million. This figure accounts for design and construction costs, marketing, and new building features such as seats, scoreboard and furniture.

The project is anticipated to be completed in time for the 2012-2013 basketball season. This December the project will go out for bid, with ground-breaking expected to take place early in 2010.

Chancellor Gene Block emphasized the significance of Pauley Pavilion as a multi-purpose facility, serving the needs of each member of the UCLA community.

“Although many people know Pauley Pavilion as a sports arena, it is so much more than that,” Block said. “The renovation plan must be understood in that context.”

The arena will be closed only for the 2011-2012 season, during which the intercollegiate teams that call Pauley home will compete at other venues.

The Los Angeles branch of Naramore, Bain, Brady, and Johanson, an architecture and design firm, provided the design plans for the renovation project.

New additions to the facility include an all-new seating bowl, complete with new aisles, evenly-spaced stairs and safety handrails. The benches currently in the arena will be removed and replaced with padded seats. A total of 1,000 seats will be added, making the total seating capacity about 14,000.

The interior of the arena, despite amenity upgrades and the replacement of the court, seats and scoreboard, will for the most part retain its current look. The exterior, however, will receive a customized face-lift.

The north side of the building, accessible from Bruin Walk near Lot 7, will become the new front entrance to the building. It will feature a concourse with a lobby and 35-foot-tall glass-enclosed entrance. On the mezzanine level, a pavilion club with a 600-guest capacity will provide a setting for campus events as well as game-day hospitality.

The south side of the building, near Spaulding Field, will play host to a marketplace framed by glass-hanger doors. The east concourse will house a gallery showcasing UCLA’s prestigious athletic history.

There will also be more concession stands and three times the number of restrooms in the renovated arena.

Under Bruin Walk, a below-grade expansion will accommodate new facilities for student-athletes, including locker rooms, player lounges, a film room, sports medicine room, weight room, and equipment room.

“One of our primary objectives is to provide a first-class experience to our student-athletes,” said UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero.

UCLA men’s basketball coach Ben Howland described the renovation of Pauley Pavilion as integral to UCLA’s recruitment platform.

“The ability to recruit the best and brightest in the country starts not only with having the greatest university in the world academically, but also the finest athletic facilities,” Howland said. “(Pauley Pavilion) would undoubtedly be the best facility in the country once completed.”

Due to the demand for men’s basketball season tickets, UCLA athletics is putting together a thoroughly researched and developed plan for those interested in investing in the program.

On July 1, the athletic department will release a comprehensive guide to purchasing men’s basketball season tickets, complete with guidelines on how to select seats, financial commitments, and the decision-making progress regarding seat assignments.

Guerrero said that in light of the economic crisis, ticket plans will be tailored to the individual so that each buyer is comfortable with their commitment.

“Our campaign allows for inclusiveness, for the entire Bruin family and beyond,” Guerrero said

The sentiment echoes the university’s decision to keep the bare bones of the building in an effort to celebrate the tradition associated not just with athletics, but the university as a whole.

“The unique aspect of this facility (is) that it is not just a basketball arena,” Guerrero said. “If it was just a basketball arena, it might be different, but it isn’t.”

With reports from Matt Stevens, Bruin Sports senior staff.

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