FRESH START FOR UNIVERSITY VENUE

2016 was a monumental year at Steven C. O’Connell Center, on the campus of University of Florida, Gainesville, despite the venue not being opened for most of it.
“We shut down for a $65-million renovation from March through December,” said Director Lynda Reinhart. “We reopened in January 2017.” Fourteen staff stayed on through the renovation. Three hundred to 400 student workers have been rehired and retrained since the reopening.
The renovation costs were paid for by the university, the Athletic Association and donations. A new naming rights deal for the arena was also put in place, which will now be known as Exactech Arena at Steven C. O’Connell Arena. The deal is for 7 years and cost Exactech $7 million.
The 1980-built building was entirely gutted. “We replaced all the electrical systems, all the plumbing, all the lighting, the HVAC system, we rebuilt the bowl structure, added video boards and scoreboards, created a new entry lobby, an outdoor terrace and added 17,000 sq. ft. of event space,” she said.
Everything went according to plan, and the building had a trial-run in mid-December when they hosted commencement ceremonies. Athletic events followed and in January, the new and improved Steven C. O’Connell Center was open for business.
The first concert was Big Sean, then Lil Wayne played, and then medium Theresa Caputo performed. Ticket prices at the center ranged from $20-$65. Bookings for the rest of the year are still in flux, as “we have to work around the athletics’ schedule, which is not finalized yet,” said Reinhart, who does not expect it to be finalized until mid-summer.
As part of the renovation, Centerplate, venue concessionaire, doubled POS stations and added two cooking kitchens where there were none prior. This allowed new food offerings like burgers, chicken fingers, wraps and jambalaya, all of which pushed F&B sales up 20-30 percent since reopening.
Security improvements include buying 15 magnetometers, new cameras, a new card-swiping system for ingress and hardening of the outside with bollards.
“We’re really excited about the rest of the year,” said Reinhart. “We have a lot of interest in the new facility and we’re looking forward to taking advantage of everything the building has to offer.”