Under Construction Forever

Anybody catch the note in Wednesday's Orlando Sentinel about the 10,000-seat convocation center now under construction at the University of Central Florida?

UCF - occasionally known as "Under Construction Forever" - has now made headlines twice in the last seven days with plans for a new on-campus football stadium and this new arena, which will host men's and women's basketball, concerts, shows, and graduations (with 44,000 undergrads and a current arena that seats only 4,607, UCF holds as many as six graduation ceremonies per semester). According to the Sentinel, the new convocation center could cost as much as $107 million once retail space, a new walking mall, and improvements are factored in.

Here's the part that should interest Magic fans, Magic ownership, residents of Orlando and Orange County, and especially the many local critics who have howled at the mere suggestion that a new building for the Magic utilize any public monies: UCF's building is privately funded.

From Sentinel writer Alan Schmadtke: "UCF will pay for the project by collecting money on 2,000 dorm rooms, two parking garages and 89,000 square feet of space for retailers."

Hmmm. Didn't some TV sports guy recently write a blog suggesting that a new downtown arena in Orlando incorporate "retail, dining, attractions, and other uses into its business model, creating a year-round, non-game-day magnet for commerce"?

Substitute "condos" for "dorms," and the UCF model starts to sound like my image of a new arena in downtown Orlando. UCF already has Ron Jon's, Barnes & Noble, Starbucks, and several other unnamed retailers on board, ready to serve those aforementioned 44,000 students - and ready to absorb some of the construction costs. Inside the building, the UCF Foundation will sell 16 luxury suites at $25,000 each, 64 loge seats at $1,000 per, and 500 club seats at $500 a pop. Sales in all three categories are already underway, with three-to-five-year commitments part of the deal.

By the way, the new UCF convocation center was designed by HOK of Kansas City, the same firm that brought us Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the Moscone Center in San Francisco, and SBC Park, among other projects.

Magic officials have made several benchmarking trips to other NBA cities over the last few months, taking notes on the myriad advances made in arena construction since the TD Waterhouse Centre opened nearly twenty years ago. Maybe they should make a drive out to east Orange County. Seems to me that UCF has already figured this thing out.