Open house for Drury's new arena is Friday

The O'Reilly Family Event Center is ready for public viewing.

September 29, 2010|by Joe Hickman, KY3 Sports | jhickman@ky3.com

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Especially compared to Weiser Gym, the Panthers' previous home of more than 60 years, there is definitely a major "wow" factor when you enter the ground-level concourse of the O'Reilly Family Event Center and look down on a $13.5 million, 3,100 seat state-of-the-art facility, complete with a video board, private suites, a team store, a hall of fame, and a banquet room. They're all amenities you'd never find at Weiser.

"Weiser was a wonderful place to watch a basketball game," said Edsel Matthews, Drury's vice-president of athletic affairs and chief fundraiser for the new arena. "It had great tradition and a cozy, old-fashioned atmosphere but it wasn't much good for anything else. It had poor heating and no air conditioning. It served its purpose and it's time to move on."

The move next door to the Family Event Center is certainly more fan-friendly, from more bathrooms to concession stands in an open-air concourse.

"When you're in the concession line, you can still see what's going on. You haven't left the activity," said arena director Myra Moore.

The new facility is also athlete-friendly with gorgeous player lounges, a $1.5 million training facility and elaborate lockers made of burl walnut.

"The donor who provided the panels used to make gun stocks for Remington," Moore said. "We don't know of any NBA team that's got a nicer set of lockers than we have."

And those nice facilities certainly help recruiting.

"We need to get Division 1-level talent to come to a quality Division 2 school," said Pat Atwell, Drury's athletic director. "And that (the new arena) is how we'll win."

"Certainly, to stay up with the competition, we needed a place like this," said Matthews. "And this'll do it."

An open house for the O'Reilly Family Event Center's "kickoff event" is Friday, Oct. 1, starting at 6 p.m. with barbeque, music, and fireworks. Drury is also calling it “Celebrate Good Times on the Plaza." It's free but people must RSVP at drurytickets.com.

The first athletic competition is Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. with the Drury volleyball team meeting Missouri S&T. Oct. 15 at 7 p.m., fans can meet the Drury men's and women's basketball teams at the new arena.

Several concerts are associated with the center's opening, including Lifehouse and Chris Adams on Oct. 29, Aretha Franklin on Oct. 30, Darius Rucker on Nov. 5, and comedian Bil Engvall (of Blue Collar Tour fame) on Nov. 18. Check drurytickets.com for more information.

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