By Aaron Kessler / Daily Progress staff writer
Published: June 14, 2006

Richard Laurance stood quietly along the side of the room Tuesday night at Newcomb Hall. He was the man of the hour within the ranks of the University of Virginia brass, even if the residents coming in to attend UVa’s “Community Briefing” did not recognize him.

Laurance checked his watch, and waited patiently. But his mind was elsewhere.

“Tonight is the final exam,” Laurance said. “And here I am wearing a suit. But what can you do.” He left a half-hour into the presentation, during which two UVa officials explained to about 75 people the many university projects under way or planned.

As director of the new John Paul Jones Arena, Laurance has overseen the construction of the 15,000-seat building, which has lasted more than four years. It is his last project before he retires, having had a role in most major building efforts in recent memory at UVa.

Tuesday night, more than 40 people were at the new arena performing the final testing necessary before state inspectors from Richmond arrive on site today. Fire marshals were probing the structure, he said. Everything from the smoke detectors to the lighting systems to the generators got a thorough work-over, making sure every “t” was crossed.

“We’ve got people walking every inch of every exit,” Laurance said.

The $130 million arena project is quickly nearing completion, and after the state inspections the project will be one step closer to opening its doors to the public.

The arena’s management company, SMG, will be moving into offices at the building on Tuesday. Laurance said the university will officially turn over control of the arena to the company on July 7. SMG manages stadiums, arenas and convention centers across the country and in Europe, and works with promoters to schedule events at John Paul Jones. The first event, Cirque Du Soleil’s “Delirium,” is scheduled for Aug. 1.

During Tuesday’s presentation, Richard Kovatch, UVa’s associate vice president for business operations, said 90 to 100 events each year will be held at the arena, including everything from concerts to basketball to consumer shows.

UVa has developed a series of parking plans that involve arena spaces as well as those at University Hall and the Emmet Garage. But should an event sell out, Kovatch said the overflow parking would likely need to utilize “surrounding university parking spaces,” which first would mean the Darden and Law schools’ parking lots, followed by those on the central Grounds if necessary.

“That parking comes into play only … when we have 14,000 or 15,000 people coming to the arena,” Kovatch said.

Also during Tuesday’s meeting, University Architect David Neuman presented an overview of the many other building projects in the works at UVa, including the much-anticipated South Lawn Project.

Neuman said officials were moving “as quickly as we can” to begin the first phase of the South Lawn in the fall, which involves building a 100-foot-wide terrace to span Jefferson Park Avenue. Part of the rush is an estimated 1 percent increase in construction costs every month, which translates to more than $1 million a month for South Lawn.

Other projects in the works include new residence hall construction on Alderman Road, renovation of the university University of Virginia Medical Center and creating a new arts center, Neuman said.