University President John T. Casteen III announced yesterday that alumnus Paul Tudor Jones II has pledged $20 million to the athletic department to help fund the construction of a new basketball arena.
The new arena is slated to open in the fall of 2006 and will replace University Hall, which was completed in 1965.
Jones graduated from the University in 1976 with a degree in economics and has been a key supporter for several University projects in the last decade. Jones is chairman of the Tudor Group in Greenwich, Conn., a money management firm he founded in the 1980s.
His gift comes on the heels of an anonymous donation of $20 million, which jumpstarted planning for the arena when it was announced four months ago.
This is not the first time the University has benefited from Jones' generosity.
"Paul Jones has contributed both ideas and dollars as we have moved in the last decade to replace the money taken away by the state in 1990-92 and then to reach higher levels of excellence," Casteen said.
Jones' most recent gift will expedite efforts to plan and construct the proposed arena, which Director of Athletics Craig Littlepage said he believes will serve as a welcoming place for the University as well as a central point of connection and gathering for the local community.
A facility to replace University Hall has been in planning stages since 1998 and is now one step closer to becoming a reality. Leonard Sandridge, executive vice president and chief operating officer, said construction is expected to begin during the fiscal year 2002-2003. It may be possible to accelerate the project, although the tremendous amount of work that needs to be done makes it unclear as to just how much the efforts can speed up, he added.
At a press conference yesterday, women's basketball coach Debbie Ryan said the plans for the new arena already have made an impact on recruiting efforts, and "once we get a shovel in the ground, it will help recruiting dramatically."
The anticipation of a new basketball arena has inspired a great deal of enthusiasm throughout the Athletic Department. "We are obviously very excited about Mr. Jones' support to the University and the athletic department, and we feel it will be a great benefit to the University as a whole," Littlepage said.
Other University endeavors in which Jones has been involved include support for the Jefferson Scholars Program, volunteering with the billion dollar Capital Campaign, which concluded in December of last year, and providing funding for endowed chairs and scholarships for the Commerce and Darden schools, among other programs.
Jones recently donated $10 million for the construction of Clark Hall. When the department of environmental sciences moved into the building in 1969, officials stuck a lab science subject into a non-science building, said Dave Smith, chairman of the environmental sciences department.
But Jones' gift, in addition to $20 million from the state, has allowed the department to add a research science facility to the back of Clark Hall and also to renovate the existing structure, Smith added.
"We owe Mr. Jones a tremendous debt of gratitude for his generosity and what he's doing for this department," he said.
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