The Auburn Board of Trustees will vote on February 7 to cancel previous plans for a new basketball practice facility and instead approve a $9 million renovation project for Neville Arena, according to meeting materials. The original proposal, approved in 2022, aimed to build a new practice facility, but the board is now set to abandon those plans. Neville Arena, which serves as the home for Auburn’s men’s and women’s basketball teams, gymnastics, and volleyball, currently shares a practice gym for the basketball teams.
The materials outlined that the initial scope of the project included the construction of a new practice gym and expanded support spaces to accommodate the heavy use of the existing facilities. However, after reevaluating the design, the Athletics Department adjusted the plan to meet the original goals without needing a new practice gym.
The revised project, titled “Neville Arena – Team Support Improvements,” will involve a 22,500-square-foot renovation within the arena. Key upgrades will include enhancements to the current practice gym, improvements to the scholarship lobby, and the relocation and expansion of team meeting rooms and offices for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
Neville Arena
In a September 2022 interview, head coach Bruce Pearl explained that the decision to delay the new practice facility was to prioritize NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) spaces for all sports. “We’ve got to take care of the NIL space first,” Pearl said at the time, emphasizing the need to address other priorities before focusing on the practice facility.
Pearl was questioned again in 2024 about the project after Auburn announced renovations for Jordan-Hare Stadium’s new videoboard, signaling that the basketball practice facility would continue to take a backseat to other key initiatives for the time being.
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