Here comes The Jack

The Jack is ready.

Five years and $130 million after it was first envisioned, the largest indoor arena in the state of Virginia is finally complete.

The exterior includes the mandated “Jeffersonian” touches. The interior sports one of the most sophisticated setups in the country - complete with a 42,000-pound video scoreboard, 15,000 seats and athletic facilities that an NBA star would envy.

Richard Laurance, who directed the new John Paul Jones Arena’s construction, said one word has described people’s reaction: “Wow.“

“That’s what usually comes out of their mouths,“ he said.

The arena is named for John Paul “Jack” Jones, whose son, Paul Tudor Jones II, pledged $40 million toward the arena’s construction.

The arena can accommodate everything from sporting events to circus acts - even monster trucks and motocross racing.

“All they need to do is bring in the dirt,“ Laurance said, standing on the floor of the new arena.

He pointed to the enormous “elephant door” at the far corner, which opens up straight to a large loading dock at the back of the building.

“Semis can pull straight in onto the floor, unload and then turn around and drive out,“ he said. “They never have to back up.“

Neither, presumably, will the elephants.

But when University of Virginia alums opened their pocketbooks to fund the construction of the arena, they likely weren’t doing it to see Disney on Ice. They were thinking about something closer to home: Cavalier basketball.

And basketball they will get. John Paul Jones is a cathedral to athletics, with facilities that rival anything Laurance said he has ever seen at the college level.

“There’s nothing like it,“ he said. “You almost can’t believe it.“

This is particularly evident in the practice facilities and locker rooms, decked out in fine woods and plush fabrics, which stretch out behind the main arena space.

There are no standard metal lockers for the home team here - only cherry and mahogany embossed with Cavalier logos, and tiled hot tubs that rise from the floor like altars to soothe the weary player.

The practice areas, with ceilings as high as the NBA’s Washington Wizards use, sport not only an entire full-size basketball court, but also an additional half-court setup for shooting practice and other drills.

And that’s just for the men.

The women’s team gets the same treatment on its side of the facility - meaning JPJ contains the equivalent of three basketball courts just for practice. If that’s not enough, there’s always that 15,000-seat arena next door where players can toss the ball around. Assuming Eric Clapton isn’t using it.

“So you can have a sold-out concert going on, while meanwhile the players can be running a full-court scrimmage game in here,“ Laurance said, standing on the practice court. “And then over there [on the half court] you can have a guy doing free throws at the same time.“

The luxury doesn’t stop at the locker room door when it comes to the athletic facilities. The coaches and their assistants will work in offices that bring to mind the accoutrements of a law firm - carved mahogany furniture, glass coffee tables and leather couches.

The dining facilities are similarly well appointed, with seating for up to 300 and an on-site kitchen providing meals to the athletes as needed. The room can also double to host other events, as it did recently for a UVa donor reception.

A co-ed fitness center will soon be outfitted with about $500,000 worth of top-of-the-line equipment.

Ready to go

While the finishing touches are still being put on the practice facilities, the main arena has officially been turned over to SMG, an international arena management company that is overseeing operations at John Paul Jones.

SMG got the keys on Friday, which puts general manager Larry Wilson and his team in charge of running the Jack. And the arena, Wilson said, is ready for business.

“We could have an event here tonight,“ Wilson said. “If a promoter calls me and has something good, we’re ready to go.“

SMG reports to Richard Kovatch, associate vice president for business operations at UVa.

“Up until now, [the arena] has been primarily considered a construction site,“ Kovatch said. “But effective July 7 it’s officially an occupied facility.“

SMG will have 17 full-time employees working at John Paul Jones, and lately the staff has been keeping busy. Wilson said he has been working up to 90 hours a week, with normal days starting at 6 a.m. and including 10 to 15 meetings a day, not to mention the dozens of phone calls.

Wilson and SMG work with promoters from around the country to bring in regional and national acts. The first scheduled event is Aug. 1, when Cirque du Soleil will bring its show “Delirium” to the arena.

Wilson said that early on Cirque was originally scheduled to perform on July 8, but it later added tour dates on the East Coast and had to push back its Charlottesville appearance to August.

Events including concerts by the Dave Matthews Band and Kenny Chesney, along with professional wrestling and Disney on Ice, have already been scheduled as well. At least a half-dozen events beyond those already announced are also in the works, although Wilson declined to reveal who they are.

For those itching to get a peek at the arena, an open house is in the works.

“It’ll be an opportunity for the general public to stop by and see the arena,“ Kovatch said. “We’ll probably have some games for the kids, some free food.“ The date of the open house has not been announced yet.

Versatile site

One of the more impressive features of the arena, Wilson said, is its “flexibility.“

“Look up there, do you see those curtains?“ Wilson said, pointing to the ceiling. “We can curtain off thousands of seats if we want to … in any configuration.“

A press of a button and almost the entire upper deck - some 5,000 seats - can be hidden.

Another set of curtains can be lowered to section off almost the entire arena, if necessary, creating the equivalent of a 1,200-seat theater with a small stage below.

“It really give us options when working with promoters,“ Wilson said, adding that more “intimate” shows can come in to play for a few thousand people without feeling lost in a large, empty space.

Wilson said the single largest factor in getting good entertainment to the arena will be ticket sales. The more promoters see their shows doing well in Charlottesville, the more they will return - and spread the word.

“It’s really all about the ticket sales, it’s almost like a mantra with me,“ he said. “People need to understand that’s the key.“

Seating a science

And of course, tickets - and with them, seats - come at a premium when you’re talking about a new arena.

Nowhere is this more evident than when it comes to UVa basketball, where seat selection has been honed to a science, and big donors rule the day.

To date, about $115 million has been raised for the $129.8 million project.

The Virginia Athletics Foundation, whose mission is to raise funds for UVa athletics, led the charge to cull private money for the arena. The biggest lure? Seats.

Donors to John Paul Jones were actually asked to make two contributions - one “arena” gift and one “annual” gift.

Those with large “arena” contributions get first choice of which seats they want, while the “annual” contribution affects the number of seats a donor is eligible to purchase.

For $500,000, donors qualify for two “high-end” courtside chairs.

The Jack also has luxury suites, where occupants can entertain friends and clients.

The suites at John Paul Jones lease for five, seven or 10 years at a time - at a cost of between $65,000 and $75,000 a year, depending on the location.

Marilyn Wright, the suite director for the foundation, said interest in the suites was quite high.

“We sold all the suites without showing it to anyone,“ she said, adding that if people are interested in leasing a suite they’ll need to get in line.

“Call me in five years,“ Wright said.

In addition to providing a suite each to university President John T. Casteen III and Athletic Director Craig Littlepage - Casteen’s is actually a double - the university offered 17 suites for lease.

The list of suite-holders includes law firms Williams Mullen and Hunton & Williams, as well as local real estate mogul Coran Capshaw, who manages the Dave Matthews Band through his company Red Light Management.

But Laurance, who said the arena will be his last major project for the university, said you don’t have to spend a fortune to enjoy an event at the arena. Even from the upper levels, the view is “pretty darn good.“

“There really isn’t a bad seat in the house,“ he said. “You always feel close.“

Laurance, who will be on hand for the opening event Aug. 1, said he hopes the arena will stand the test of time. After a long career spent involved in nearly every major UVa building project in recent memory, he said he is pleased to have the Jack as his swan song.

“Will this place be out of date in 50 years? No way.“