As reported by the News & Advance and announced by Jerry Falwell Jr., Liberty is planning a new arena which will be the new home of the men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball programs.
The facility is expected to open by the first basketball game in 2020 and will be attached to the Vines Center in the lot that is currently used for bus pickups next to DeMoss Hall. The new arena will be approximately 125,000 square feet and will seat 4,000 people. Construction is expected to start this fall.
Rumors of the new arena have circulated for several years with the University originally planning to build it in the current site of Doc’s Diner. This will allow Liberty to use the Vines Center primarily as a convocation center for the thrice-weekly meetings of the student body. The Vines Center will still be used for basketball games in which the attendance is expected to exceed 4,000. The project also calls for an exterior facelift to the Vines Center, with updates to the dome roof and the addition of overhangs at the entrances.
Average attendance for the men’s basketball team this season has been just over 2,100 which makes the Vines Center and its 9,500 capacity seem cavernous. The new, more intimate facility will create a much larger home court advantage for Liberty’s programs.
