Unless you’re with UF gymnastics, the Stephen C. O’Connell Center is off limits.
The center’s bleachers are being torn apart and ripped out to make way for about 10,500 chairbacks, Lynda Reinhart, the director of the center, wrote in an email. On Feb. 13, the center passed capacity with more than 12,000 people attending the Alabama vs. UF home basketball game.
The center, which is undergoing multiple renovations, will reopen to the public in December, she said. The renovations, which cost $64.5 million, will have 668 premium seats and a premium club lounge, according to Alligator archives. Premium ticket holders can purchase beer and wine at men’s basketball games.
“The gymnastics team and staff will have access to the gymnastics studio and offices until April 14, but the building is closed to all other students, staff or visitors,” she said.
The pool closed after the 2016 U.S. Collegiate Synchronized Championships finished March 26, she said.
For Erika Fassler and the Florida Club Swimming and Diving, the renovations mean scrambling to find time to practice before competitions.
“We’re all UF students, and that’s supposed to be one of (our) resources,” the 22-year-old UF health science senior said, “so the fact that we don’t have that is a pretty big thing.”
Fassler, the women’s co-captain of the club, said they practiced at the center four days a week.
“This is definitely very significant for us,” Fassler said. “We can’t just build a pool out of thin air.”
@melissagomez
mgomez@alligator.org
An excavator rips out a set of bleachers in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center as part of a $64.5 million renovation that will replace the seating with 10,500 chairbacks, 668 premium seats and a premium club lounge.
