$70 million USCB arena will be moved closer to a Bluffton main road. Here’s a funding update
Plans for a $70 million convocation center at the University of South Carolina-Beaufort’s Bluffton campus are solidifying with the state appropriating $10 million in funding this year and the school selecting a location.
It will take at least another “two to three years at best” to secure all the money and break ground, according to USCB Vice Chancellor for Finance Beth Patrick. She said the multipurpose facility would be the largest in Beaufort County and seat 3,500 to 4,000 people for community and school athletic events.
The arena will be adjacent to Highway 278, also called Old Fording Island Road, and the school changed the proposed location from the academic quad in the center of campus to the current site for easier event access and parking, according to Patrick. She said it will also provide more security for residential students by keeping large groups of visitors to the perimeter of the campus property.
“We need to treat (USCB) like it’s part of the University (of South Carolina),” Rep. William G. Herbkersman, R-Bluffton, said. “Quite frankly, there’s nothing in our part of the Lowcountry that comes anywhere near that (size).”
The campus’ current recreation center seats 1,200 people when set up with folding chairs for commencement-style events, but capacity drops when set up for a sporting event. It’s used for both intramural sports and university teams.
“It’s pretty limited as far as availability and there’s not large seating capacity as we get into the NCAA and anticipate larger crowds and so forth for indoor events,” Patrick said.
USCB recently moved into the NCAA Division II with added volleyball and basketball teams for the 2023-24 term and hired former Purdue head coach Sharon Versyp for the women’s basketball team. They’ll start playing this fall, according to Patrick.
“(The NCAA) increases visibility and increases your ability to offer certain things in your curriculum and allows you to cast a wider net in terms of people that you’re trying to get to come to the university,” Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, said.
Gov. Henry McMaster approved the $13 billion state budget with $10 million appropriated for the center Tuesday, completing South Carolina’s budgeting process for fiscal year 2023-24. On top of the $16.25 million already secured from the state, Patrick said they hope to get another $10 million next year, and then the remaining $33.75 million will be locally funded.
County Administrator Eric Greenway said they have plans to work with USCB on the convocation center, but haven’t determined how they would raise funds. The county contributed $300,000 to start design work in 2019.
Herbkersman said that the center will be “self-sufficent,” especially when considering the revenue it will raise from events when the university isn’t using it.
An economic impact study of the center, conducted by the Regional Economic Analysis Laboratory at Clemson University in 2020, estimates construction would create between 124 and 203 jobs in Beaufort County. The study projects the center would contribute an average of $3.4 million to $4.3 million to the county per year after it’s built and create about 50 permanent jobs.
“(When you think about) public concerts, basketball games, concerts, the plays and all the stuff that rounds this community out. It’s for USCB, but it’s also a kind of a payback to the community for supporting USCB too,” he said. “You look at the numbers on something like that and, you know, it’s very self sufficient.”
This story was originally published June 23, 2023 at 12:37 PM.
