CHAPEL HILL, N.C. \u2014 North Carolina\u2019s yearslong study and dialogue about the future of the Dean E. Smith Center will take even more time. The university announced on Sunday that the basketball arena outlook is now on hold due to the men\u2019s basketball head coaching change. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe University of North Carolina is suspending ongoing discussions about the future of the Smith Center in order to focus on identifying and selecting a new head men\u2019s basketball coach,\u201d UNC said in a statement. \u201cArena discussions will resume after the new coach has had time to acclimate to the program and focus on future needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
UNC officials had shared news privately in December with key stakeholders about their decision to build a new arena at Carolina North, which was officially unveiled in January as a 250-acre extension of campus that will provide a live-work-play-learn-research-study campus environment. Carolina North is located at the northwest corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Estes Drive, which is where Horace Williams Airport was located until closing in May 2018.<\/p>\n
Significant pushback from stakeholders prompted school officials to acknowledge some communication breakdowns and open further discussions about the future of the 40-year-old facility that\u2019s in need of significant repair. Earlier this month, UNC released key summary details from the arena study documents that provided a glimpse into the projected costs and revenues for all seven options under consideration. That list consists of new builds at the current site, Bowles Lot, Odum Village, Friday Center and Carolina North, in addition to Repair & Maintain and Renovate at the current site. While the Repair & Maintain option would cost roughly $150 million, an extensive renovation would cost nearly $600 million while the new builds would range between $700-$800 million. <\/p>\n
University leadership shared six strategic priorities that would shape their decision-making process: (1) deliver the premier basketball-first collegiate arena; (2) preserve the legacy and tradition of Carolina basketball; (3) provide best-in-class student-athlete training facilities; (4) improve student seating for maximum in-game impact; (5) offer an elite fan experience; and (6) increase revenue opportunities to ensure competitive success and status as a top-tier program.<\/p>\n
With the school\u2019s decision to part ways with head coach Hubert Davis on Tuesday night after five years at the helm of the men\u2019s basketball program, UNC\u2019s decision to pause the arena discussion provides an opportunity for the next head coach \u2013 the 20th in program history \u2013 to settle into the position without the controversial decision being front and center.<\/p>\n
Inside Carolina\u2019s Arena Decision Coverage
3\/29:\u00a0UNC Suspending Basketball Arena Discussions<\/a>
3\/18:\u00a0Governor Weighs in on Smith Center Debate<\/a>
3\/11:\u00a0Inside UNC\u2019s Permanent Seat Licenses<\/a>
3\/7:\u00a0What is the Timeline?<\/a>
3\/6:\u00a0How \u00a0Odum Village Emerged as Primary Option<\/a>
3\/5:\u00a0How Do PSLs Factor into Decision?<\/a>
3\/4:\u00a0Student Seating Emerging as Defining Issue<\/a>
3\/4:\u00a0Updated Arena Costs, Revenues, Timeline<\/a>
2\/26:\u00a0Inside Smith Center\u2019s Original Fundraising Plans<\/a>
2\/16:\u00a0Admins Discuss Renovation Feasibility<\/a>
2\/10:\u00a0Alumni Council Launched for Arena<\/a>
2\/4:\u00a0Basketball Family\u2019s Fight to Save the Smith Center<\/a>
1\/26:\u00a0Inside the Odum Village Option<\/a>
1\/21:\u00a0Carolina North Launches Without Arena Announcement<\/a>
1\/20:\u00a0Inside the Carolina North Option<\/a>
1\/19:\u00a0Inside the Renovation Option<\/a>
12\/16:\u00a0Inside the Call: Officials Speak with Former Players<\/a>
12\/15:\u00a0Officials Seeking Alignment as Smith Center Decision Nears<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHAPEL HILL, N.C. \u2014 North Carolina\u2019s yearslong study and dialogue about the future of the Dean E. Smith…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":554220,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[99],"class_list":{"0":"post-554219","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=554219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/554220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=554219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=554219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=554219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}