In two years, Liberty’s basketball and volleyball players will have a new stage to perform on. The 125,000-square-foot Liberty Arena is one of the latest additions to the university’s master plan, which already includes several new and renovated athletics facilities.
Located next door to the 10,000-seat Vines Center, the smaller, 4,000-seat arena will host men’s and women’s basketball games, as well as women’s volleyball games. It will become the permanent operations center for the volleyball program, with expanded locker rooms and office space.
“Our teams will have a more intimate environment and a tremendous home court advantage,” said Ian McCaw, Liberty’s director of athletics. “And Flames fans will enjoy the arena’s modern amenities, including premium seating and hospitality areas.”
Construction is expected to start this fall and is scheduled to be completed in time for the start of the first basketball game in Fall 2020.
A grand entrance to the arena will greet guests along University Boulevard. Fans can also enter the building on the west side, from the campus lawn.
The location at the center of campus is ideal because of its proximity to residence halls and existing basketball offices, practice courts, and locker rooms in the Vines Center. The two facilities will be connected inside at the Vines Center’s concourse level, making it an even more versatile facility for larger university events.
The Vines Center will also receive an exterior facelift as part of the project. Updates will be made to the dome roof, and overhangs will be added at the entrances. The Vines Center will continue to be used for any games in which attendance is expected to exceed 4,000.
Liberty students pack out the Vines Center for Convocation three times a week. When the new Liberty Arena opens, it will eliminate the countless man-hours and resources used to repeatedly set up and tear down the stage and floor seating.
