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Friday, November 07, 2008
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UNM unveils $60 million makeover plan for arena
By Rick Wright Journal Staff Writer
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A $60 million face-lift and tummy tuck for the Pit will streamline, modernize and beautify the nationally renowned 42-year-old basketball palace, University of New Mexico athletics administrators said Thursday, But, they said, the Pit will forever be the Pit. "We wanted to keep the character, the intimacy, the sightlines, all the things that make it such a wonderful basketball facility," said Paul Krebs, UNM's vice president for athletics, "yet modernize a building that is over 40 years old that is in need of improvement. "I feel we've been able to do all of that as part of this project." On Thursday, Krebs and Senior Associate Athletics Director Tim Cass presented the completed architectural design for the renovation. Officially named University Arena, the building long ago became the Pit because of its original, award-winning subterranean design. Work could begin as early as January, Cass said, but major construction won't begin until April. Cass said the entire project will take 18 to 24 months. "So there will be construction during the middle of the (2009-10) season," he said. The finished product, courtesy of the Albuquerque architectural firm Molzen-Corbin & Associates, won't resemble your grandfather's Pit from the concourse upward or outward. Outside, cement walls will be replaced in many areas by tinted glass, affording views of the Sandias and Albuquerque's Downtown. The original building's box-like appearance will give way to curves, angles and an upswept northeast main entrance. Inside, potentially high-yielding luxury suites and club seating will replace many of the mezzanine seats that were added in 1975. The concourse will be widened, restrooms and concession stands doubled, adjustments made to meet American With Disabilities Act requirements. The Lobo men's and women's basketball teams will get new locker rooms and a weight room. Seating capacity, currently 18,018, will be reduced by about 1,500. Season-ticket holders in the mezzanine, Krebs said, have been offered seats closer to the floor. "I believe most folks took us up on that offer and relocated this year," he said. John Pate, vice president and senior architect for Molzen-Corbin, said the Pit project presented major challenges. "We struggled forever on what this thing was going to look like," he said. "We finally got to a point to where we set up a competition with all the architects that were playing in the game, all the architects that the university hired in this team here. "And this is the design that won." Schematics of the redesign are available for viewing on UNM's athletics Web site, golobos.com. The Pit's original design, produced in 1966 by Albuquerque architect Joe Boehning and built for barely 2 percent of what the renovation will cost, was a winner in its own right — and still is, Cass said. That's why, from the floor looking up, "you're not going to see a whole lot of difference. With the exception of replacing and modernizing the seating, that will look very similar." The renovation, Krebs said, is intended to enhance the Pit as a basketball arena and not as a multi-purpose venue. "At the end of the day," he said, "it's a basketball facility. It's always been a basketball facility. "... We welcome other events, but I don't think you'll see a flood of additional events coming because of these changes. It's not a building that's real friendly to concerts." The narrow ramp at the southeast corner of the Pit remains the only vehicular path in and out. The ramp, Krebs said, is an integral part of the building's personality. Krebs said UNM has in hand about $44 million of the $60 million it needs to complete the renovation. In 2006, Gov. Bill Richardson pledged $8 million in capital outlay funds toward the project. Krebs said the athletic program has $25 million in bonds earmarked for the renovation. UNM athletics recently began a fundraising drive, for which former Lobo basketball star Danny Granger's recent gift of $500,000 served as the kickoff. "The luxury suites and club seating will pay our debt service on the bonds," Krebs said, "so they are critical elements in the project. In the very near future, we'll be out actively selling (them), as well as raising private donations, (offering) naming rights and other naming opportunities within this building, to raise the additional monies we need. "We're confident we'll be able to do that." Pit Website
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