Jerry Richardson, Carolina Panthers founder, owner and Wofford alumni and trustee, is making a generous donation to Wofford College to build a new indoor stadium that will house a basketball arena, volleyball venue, locker rooms and other facilities.
College officials announced that Richardson, who graduated from Wofford College in 1959 and played football for the Wofford Terriers, provided the charitable contribution to fund the 92,000-square-foot facility that will include a 3,400-seat basketball arena and a 500-seat volleyball competition venue. Richardson wanted the actual amount to remain undisclosed. The facility will replace Benjamin Johnson Arena, which will continue to be used for intramural and campus recreational activities.
The new indoor stadium will be adjacent to the north end of Gibbs Stadium, where the Terriers play football.
The announcement comes less than a month after the college announced that Richardson would fund the Rosalind S. Richardson Center for the Arts to house academic programs in theatre arts, visual arts and art history.
“It truly has been an exciting few weeks for Wofford College, and we are so grateful for Jerry Richardson making two major gifts to the college to make two major elements of our recently adopted strategic vision a reality – our Rosalind S. Richardson Center for the Arts and now the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium,” Wofford President Nayef H. Samhat said. “This new arena will provide our women’s and men’s basketball and volleyball teams with a state-of-the-art facility in which to showcase their talents and host their opponents. It will be a gem that will shine for decades to come.”
The Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium will serve as the home for women’s basketball, men’s basketball and volleyball and will have a seating capacity for non-athletics functions, such as commencement and concerts, of 4,500. It will include home and visitor lockers for multiple sports, a state-of-the-art training room, coaches’ offices and locker rooms and team meeting rooms. Other features include a video board and ribbon boards, plus designated areas specifically designed for students, fans, children and donors. Four open-air suites also are planned.
“I was so fortunate to have built so many great friendships while I was a student at Wofford, and those friendships have led directly to the success I have enjoyed,” Richardson said. “Without Wofford’s influence on my life, I would not have been able to achieve everything I have. It is important to me to give back to my alma mater for all that it and the relationships I built here have given to me and my family.”
Construction on the facility will begin in fall 2015 with the opening slated for September 2017.
