Robins Center Renovation - University of Richmond

Richmond, VA
Construction Cost: $17 million
Area / Square Feet: Total: 320,000, Renovated: 111,000
Occupancy Date: December 2013

Improving the gameday experience was the primary goal behind the Robins Center Arena renovation, as the University of Richmond sought to transform its quiet and sometimes lifeless venue into an energetic sports environment. The seating bowl had been rectangular in plan, and many of the seats were high in the corners with distant, angular views. The renovation included filling in those high corners with platforms that created new luxury seating opportunities. Curved, vertical walls were also added in the corners to create a rounded-bowl effect. New video boards were added to the face of the platforms in all four corners, giving patrons a better viewing angle while creating vibrant, colorful surfaces when looking at the bowl environment as a whole.

Seating around the court had been removed over the years, and there was a 20-foot-wide empty area between the sidelines and the first row of spectators. The new design brings patrons closer to the court by creating seating in the empty zone, utilizing every inch from the sideline to the first fixed row and moving as many fans as possible closer to the action.