College Park Center

College Park Center
CPC
Address 600 S. Center St.
Location Arlington, Texas
Coordinates 32°43′50″N 97°06′29″W / 32.730586°N 97.107972°W / 32.730586; -97.107972Coordinates: 32°43′50″N 97°06′29″W / 32.730586°N 97.107972°W / 32.730586; -97.107972
Owner University of Texas at Arlington
Operator University of Texas at Arlington
Capacity 7,000
Surface Hardwood
Construction
Broke ground March 5, 2010
Opened February 1, 2012
Construction cost $78 million
($80.5 million in 2016 dollars[1])
Architect HKS, Inc.[2]
Structural engineer Henderson + Rogers, Inc.
Jaster Quintanilla Dallas LLP
Services engineer M–E Engineers, Inc.
General contractor Hunt Construction Group[3]
Tenants
UT Arlington Mavericks (NCAA) (2012–present)
Dallas Wings (WNBA) (2016–present)

College Park Center (CPC) is an indoor, multi-purpose arena on The University of Texas at Arlington campus in Arlington, Texas, United States.[4][5] It seats up to 7,000 spectators.

Its primary tenant is the Mavericks athletic department including the University's basketball and volleyball teams. A secondary tenant during the summer season is the WNBA's Dallas Wings. It also hosts graduation ceremonies for UT Arlington, other private trade schools, and area high schools, along with concerts and speakers.

The arena is part of a 20-acre section of the campus known as the College Park District. Completed in 2012, the District includes a residence hall, student apartments, a 4.62 acre park called The Green at College Park, restaurants, and three parking garages.[6]

History

A interior of College Park Center
The interior of College Park Center as the UTA Mavericks men's basketball team warms-up.

Incoming UTA President James Spaniolo's first major decision with regards to athletics came in early 2005. The UTA student body had just approved a $2 an hour student fee for the resurrection of football and addition of two women's programs, golf and soccer. In January, President Spaniolo stated the University was going to pursue a new indoor arena for the University, which would replace Texas Hall for the athletic teams. The first step taken was a student vote in April 2005 that approved a $2 an hour student fee to fund the operations of the new indoor arena.[7]

The planning continued as the location became more contentious than originally thought. There were two sites on Cooper Street that were thought to be the front runners. The City of Arlington even made an initial push for the University to build it off campus. Near the end of 2008, it was revealed the current location was in play, and that the special events arena would be part of a larger, mixed-use development. The final site selection approval from the Board of Regents came in early 2009.[8] After approval, the physical planning for the arena and surrounding development began.

Ground breaking occurred on March 5, 2010. Along with numerous other cash gifts, in the fall of 2010, the University received $5 million for construction from Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc.[9]

The grand opening of the facility was held on February 1, 2012, with a doubleheader of UT Arlington basketball when the women and men both defeated UT San Antonio in front of a then-record crowd of 6,228.[10]

The men's basketball team has a record of 42–20 at College Park Center (through the end of the 2015/16 season). The women's team is 24–39 while the volleyball team is 40–22 (through the end of the 2015 season).

Features

College Park Center is divided into two concourses. The lower surrounds the court/performance area while the upper section is shaped like a horseshoe. CPC features 7,000 chair-back seats with the lower bowl seating for 4,055.[11] A 2,800-square-foot hospitality suite, divisible into three private sections is above the lower sections opposite the scorers table. The center-hung scoreboard is a four-sided Daktronics 13' X 9' with LED displays while an end-hung scoreboard is an 11' X 19' Daktronics LED display. Two LED display ribbon boards circle the bottom of the balcony seating. At the scorers table are four Daktronics LED display tables linked together to display messages and advertising.[12]

Underneath the lower concourse are state-of-the-art sports medicine and training facilities, two full-sized practice courts, 2,500 square foot weight room,[13] an academic support study center.

Attendance

During the 2011–12 men's basketball season, UTA averaged 821 at Texas Hall while the last four games at CPC averaged 5,079. The team has averaged around 2,000 every year since opening. The 2015/16 season set an all-time program attendance average of 2,888 people per game.

The dedication ceremony between the women's and men's game on CPC's opening night.
Attendance Opponent Date Result
1 6,421 Oklahoma^ Nov 16, 2012 59–63
2 6,228 UTSA^^ Feb 1, 2012 67–66
3 6,107 North Texas Dec 3, 2015 90–67
4 5,272 Texas State Feb 11, 2012 73–53
5 5,033 Little Rock Jan 23, 2016 62–68
6 4,837 Utah State March 2, 2013 61–46
7 4,824 Cleveland State^ Nov 15, 2013 73–83
8 4,707 Northwestern State Feb 25, 2012 79–70
9 4,532 Texas Southern^ Nov 12, 2016 89–82
10 4,162 Houston Baptist^ Nov 22, 2014 87-69

^ Denotes Homecoming game ^^ Facility grand-opening

CPC has completely sold out three times, all of them concerts. Drake held the 1st concert ever, which was not open to the public, but rather to the UTA students and faculty, with 7,000 in attendance. The other two sellouts belong to Reach Records, as both Unashamed Tour shows in 2012 and 2013 surpassed 7,000 in attendance respectively.

Accolades

The U.S. Green Building Council recognized CPC with a LEED Gold certification.[14]

In February 2012, the center was featured in a Billboard Magazine article about ten new and renovated venues were reshaping the national touring circuit.[15]

Events

References

  1. ↑ Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Community Development Project. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  2. ↑ "university of texas arlington specials events center". Archived from the original on January 25, 2010.
  3. ↑ "University of Texas At Arlington College Park Center". Hunt Construction Group. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  4. ↑ "About the Center — College Park Center — The University of Texas at Arlington".
  5. ↑ UT-Arlington to build $73 million events facility
  6. ↑ "College Park District - The University of Texas at Arlington".
  7. ↑ http://www.theshorthorn.com/news/fee-awaits-final-approval/article_26263c6e-289a-572d-8095-bb3a182b206a.html
  8. ↑ http://www.theshorthorn.com/news/board-of-regents-gives-green-light-to-special-events-center/article_231ed710-7059-5391-ac90-f46307b11b68.html
  9. ↑ "UTA News Center".
  10. ↑ "404 Error: Page or File Not Found — College Park Center — The University of Texas at Arlington".
  11. ↑ https://www.utacollegepark.com/_doc/CPC-Promoters-Guide2.pdf
  12. ↑ https://www.utacollegepark.com/book/production-information.php
  13. ↑ "UT Arlington Official Athletic Site - The University of Texas at Arlington".
  14. ↑ http://www.uta.edu/collegeparkdistrict/college-park-center/index.php
  15. ↑ Waddell, Ray (February 22, 2012). "How Ten New or Renovated Venues are Reshaping the Nations Touring Circuit". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  16. ↑ "ESPN Friday Night at the Fights at UT Arlington". February 17, 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-16.
  17. ↑ "Drake Christens UTA's College Park". March 3, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Jeb Bush Maverick Speaker Series Highlights". March 23, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  19. ↑ Caldwell, James (March 18, 2012). "Location for TNA's Slammiversary PPV". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  20. ↑ "Passion Pit to perform September 14 at UT Arlington's College Park". June 11, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2012.

External links

Events and tenants
Preceded by
Impact Wrestling Zone		 Host of Slammiversary
2012 (X) 		Succeeded by
Agganis Arena
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