Auburn basketball: AU voting to approve $9 million in renovations to Neville Arena

Posted by author January 31, 2025 Basketball

Auburn basketball: AU voting to approve million in renovations to Neville Arena

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Auburn University’s athletic department is seeking approval for renovations to Neville Arena, which will include upgrades to the existing practice gym and other enhancements.
The estimated cost of the Neville Arena renovation project is $9 million and will be funded by the athletics department.
The athletic department is also seeking approval for an architect and construction manager to build a multi-use facility underneath Jordan-Hare Stadium’s north end zone.

AUBURN — At Auburn University‘s next Board of Trustees meeting, the athletic department will be seeking approval for renovations to Neville Arena — home to both Auburn basketball programs, as well as gymnastics and volleyball — bringing new life to plans that were green-lit three years ago.

In February 2022, the board adopted a resolution that approved the initiation of building an entirely new basketball practice gym at Neville Arena. It authorized the commencement of the architect selection process, and later approved a project architect selection at an April 2022 meeting, according to the meeting’s materials.

About seven months after the projects approval, Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl said he’d rather the program focus on building up its NIL efforts than building a new practice gym, and last season, before a matchup with Mississippi State, Pearl followed up on the project.

“We’ll get to revamping Neville, remodeling Neville, the practice facility situation,” Pearl said Jan. 26, 2024. “The direction that we’re going in is the right direction — and the right timing. We’ll get to revamping Neville, remodeling Neville, the practice facility situation.”

Now, that appears to be coming true, according to the materials for the AU Board of Trustees’ Feb. 7 meeting.

The athletic department will request final approval for a resolution titled “Neville Arena — Team Support Improvements.” It won’t include the building of an entirely new practice gym. Instead, it will renovate 22,500 square feet within the arena providing enhancements to the existing practice gym, scholarship lobby upgrades, and relocated and enlarged team meeting and office spaces within the men’s and women’s basketball suites.

The estimated cost of the project is $9 million, and it’s expected to be financed by athletics department funds.

“Due to the heavy use of the competition floor and existing practice gym, this project’s originally proposed scope of work included the construction of an additional practice gymnasium and expanded team support spaces,” the meeting materials read. “However, during the design process, the athletics department adjusted the scope to properly and reasonably address the original project goals without requiring the construction of an additional practice gym. The athletics director and coaches of all three teams are very supportive of, and excited for these changes to their team spaces.”

Auburn football: AU to finalize architect, construction manager approval for Jordan-Hare Stadium north end zone multi-use facility

Upgrades to Neville Arena won’t be the only athletic facilities item on the docket. The athletic department is also seeking approval for an architect and construction manager to build a multi-use facility underneath Jordan-Hare Stadium’s north end zone.

The project, which was granted approval for initiation at a Sept. 6, 2024, meeting “will combine premium seating, concessions, stadium support facilities, along with versatile conference event spaces, retail venues, student activity spaces, meeting rooms, as well as future shell space,” according to meeting materials.

If approved, Auburn will select HOK Architects of Kansas City, Missouri, as the project’s architect and Robins & Morton of Birmingham as its construction manager.

In a sit-down with the Montgomery Advertiser earlier this month, Auburn athletics director John Cohen said “everything’s still on the table” as far as the project’s plans.

“I like where we are with the north end zone project,” Cohen said. “I think it is coming along. We devote a lot of attention to that, because it’s important to the future not only of our football program, but it’s important to the future of our athletic department. It’s a potential revenue stream.”

Currently, Auburn is completing construction of a $27.5 million video board in that end zone, which is expected to be finished in time for the Tigers’ 2025 season.

Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at acole@gannett.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter.