DePaul delays debut of basketball arena
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DePaul delays debut of basketball arena
by Boyee » Fri Feb 06, 2015 1:36 pm
By Jack McCarthy Special to the Tribune
Debut of DePaul's new basketball arena pushed back to late 2017.
DePaul basketball won’t tip off at a new McCormick Place arena in January 2017 as originally planned but university officials are confident it will be open for business by the middle of that year.
The Blue Demons had hoped a new 10,000 seat near-South Side facility would be ready for the latter half of their 2016-17 season.
But delays, including an arena design tweak, have pushed groundbreaking of the projected 22-month project to sometime this spring and DePaul basketball’s debut to late 2017.
“We have no concerns and we’re not worried,” a DePaul athletic department spokesman said on Friday. “We’re planning on playing there.”
A groundbreaking is scheduled for the second quarter of 2015, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority — McCormick Place’s governing body — said on Friday.
When operational, the multipurpose center could host up to 29 DePaul men’s and women’s basketball games as well as conventions and meetings, concerts and other events. It will feature 22 suites and 300 clubs seats.
Crain’s Chicago Business last week reported that McPier officials had hoped to book up to 63 events in the arena’s opening year, including DePaul games.
The glass-walled arena will be located on Cermak Road, west of the McCormick Place convention center complex. Plans call for protected walkways to exhibition halls and hotels plus a nearby entertainment district.
The center is a public-private partnership between DePaul and McPier with each kicking in portions of the costs. One published report suggested DePaul’s obligation could be as much as $82.5 million.
Last November the McPier board approved a $164 million plan that included $150 million in construction costs. McPier and DePaul also asked Connecticut-based architects Pelli Clarke Pelli for a design revamp that would raise a below-grade floor to street level.
When completed, DePaul men’s basketball would return full-time to the city for the first time since moving from on-campus Alumni Hall to the then-Rosemont Horizon in 1980. The men’s program marks 35 years in Rosemont this season.
The Blue Demon women would also move to the McCormick Place center. That program never left the city, first playing at Alumni Hall and now at on-campus McGrath-Phillips Arena.
Copyright © 2015, Chicago Tribune
Debut of DePaul's new basketball arena pushed back to late 2017.
DePaul basketball won’t tip off at a new McCormick Place arena in January 2017 as originally planned but university officials are confident it will be open for business by the middle of that year.
The Blue Demons had hoped a new 10,000 seat near-South Side facility would be ready for the latter half of their 2016-17 season.
But delays, including an arena design tweak, have pushed groundbreaking of the projected 22-month project to sometime this spring and DePaul basketball’s debut to late 2017.
“We have no concerns and we’re not worried,” a DePaul athletic department spokesman said on Friday. “We’re planning on playing there.”
A groundbreaking is scheduled for the second quarter of 2015, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority — McCormick Place’s governing body — said on Friday.
When operational, the multipurpose center could host up to 29 DePaul men’s and women’s basketball games as well as conventions and meetings, concerts and other events. It will feature 22 suites and 300 clubs seats.
Crain’s Chicago Business last week reported that McPier officials had hoped to book up to 63 events in the arena’s opening year, including DePaul games.
The glass-walled arena will be located on Cermak Road, west of the McCormick Place convention center complex. Plans call for protected walkways to exhibition halls and hotels plus a nearby entertainment district.
The center is a public-private partnership between DePaul and McPier with each kicking in portions of the costs. One published report suggested DePaul’s obligation could be as much as $82.5 million.
Last November the McPier board approved a $164 million plan that included $150 million in construction costs. McPier and DePaul also asked Connecticut-based architects Pelli Clarke Pelli for a design revamp that would raise a below-grade floor to street level.
When completed, DePaul men’s basketball would return full-time to the city for the first time since moving from on-campus Alumni Hall to the then-Rosemont Horizon in 1980. The men’s program marks 35 years in Rosemont this season.
The Blue Demon women would also move to the McCormick Place center. That program never left the city, first playing at Alumni Hall and now at on-campus McGrath-Phillips Arena.
Copyright © 2015, Chicago Tribune
Boyee, DePaul University Alumnus
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