July 19, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.UCFAthletics.com) - With construction at the new UCF Arena nearing its completion date, UCF men's basketball head coach Kirk Speraw and women's head coach Joi Williams visited the facility on Thursday afternoon to observe the progress that crews have recently made. The coaches were joined by several members of the media.
Recent additions to the building include the playing floor, which was installed this week, and the scoreboard. Construction on the 10,000-seat venue should be completed in early August.
"I think our players are excited," said Speraw. "This is something to behold considering this used to be a retention pond. Fill it in and you start building this thing from the ground up. It has been fun to watch it take shape. Now, when you see the court down, the lights go up and the scoreboard raised, it really starts to get an athletic feel to it."
On Thursday, the coaches and media were escorted to one of the luxury suites for a view of the court, which was unveiled under the sport lights to the sounds of the "UCF Fight Song". The scoreboard was also raised to the rafters.
"I'm extremely excited and feel extremely fortunate to be able to come to play in a building like this and coach here," added Williams. "There has been a lot of buzz about this place and I know our players are motivated to get in here. I'm excited for them to see it and start to take that pride and ownership in this being our building."
Both programs will make their debut in the building in November. Since 1991, the squads played their home contests at the 5,100-seat UCF Arena, which is located directly behind the new facility.
Fans can currently place a deposit for men's basketball season tickets by calling (407) 823-1000.
For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports.