Even Ole Miss wants it Built by Bama

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June 24, 2014

Rending of the new Ole Miss Arena, set to be built beside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium — Rendering of the new Ole Miss Arena, set to be built beside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (Photo: Ole Miss)

Birmingham, Alabama-based construction juggernaut BL Harbert International will build the University of Mississippi’s new $68.9 million arena, according to a statement released by the university on Monday.

The 230,000-square-foot arena will host 9,600 fans for basketball games. Construction is set to begin immediately and will be completed in late 2015, in time for the 2016 season. This will be the second SEC arena BL Harbert has constructed in recent years. They completed Auburn University’s new facility in 2010.

Rendering of the proposed new Ole Miss Arena (Photo: Ole Miss)

AECOM of Kansas City, Missouri is the architect for the project. They previously designed the FedEx Forum in Memphis and CenturyLink Field in Seattle.

“We are honored to build a marquee project for Ole Miss that will have a lasting impact on a college campus and its students for the next 50 years,” said Gary Savage, BL Harbert’s president of U.S. operations. “BL Harbert looks forward to working with AECOM and the University in providing the students with another great SEC Arena.”

The arena is the centerpiece of the Ole Miss’s recently launched Forward Together campaign, a multi-stage initiative to expand and update the university’s athletics facilities. It will include a private student concourse, courtside and baseline seating for students, three premium club areas for fans, and over 1,700 premium seats, all within an intimate seating bowl.

The arena will also include a five story parking garage with 800 spaces that will service the entire campus community.

“The placement of the arena is a long-term decision and will allow us to further enhance our athletics complex – better connecting athletics to the heart of the best campus in higher education,” the university explains on it’s Forward Together website. “This centralized location will create an impressive ‘front door’ for Ole Miss Athletics and a destination point not only on a game day – but every day of the week.”

BL Harbert is a privately owned construction company with U.S. and International operations providing pre-construction, construction, design-build and construction management services. It is currently building across the U.S. and in twelve countries around the world. The company reported $732 million in revenues last year.

Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims

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