Florida Gators

Men's Basketball Season Tickets On Sale

December Construction Update #1

November Construction Update #4

November Construction Update #3

November Construction Update #2

As we reach mid-November, seating installation has neared the end, arena lights have been installed, both sideline and courtside clubs take shape and locker rooms are ready for the installation of lockers and other permanent structures. View Tim Casey's latest renovation photo gallery.
   

November Construction Update #1

Photos and video released on Nov. 4 show seat installation complete in all but the lowest level of the seating bowl, while the center-hung scoreboard has been assembled and waits ready to be lifted at the appropriate time. View the full photo gallery by Tim Casey, and check out the video above to see the latest details.
   

Seat Installation by John Frost

The Gators invited long-time season ticket holder John Frost to Exactech Arena at the O'Connell Center in October to assist with a seat installation. Frost reflected on fond memories and the exciting future of Florida basketball.
 

September Construction Update

Locker rooms and club areas have started to take shape, while seat installation and scoreboard construction are in progress. Check out Tim Casey's latest photo gallery of the progress at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
 

Virtual Venue

With men’s basketball seat selection just around the corner, the Gators have unveiled their Virtual Venue site that brings fans into the arena. The Virtual Venue gives a realistic look at sight-lines in the renovated O’Connell Center and provides the ability to compare pricing, views and a glance at the benefits associated with each section.
 
“We are already excited to get back in front of our fans and the Rowdies,” head coach Mike White said. “The O’Connell Center is going to be beautiful when it’s ready, and we can’t wait to play in our awesome home environment.”
 
The seat selection process will begin on June 13. Current men’s basketball Boosters and season-ticket holders will receive their assigned selection time via mail and email. Times are determined based on Booster loyalty points.
 
Fans wishing to purchase new season tickets can do so beginning June 29.
   

Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center

The UF Board of Trustees voted to approve a collaboration that will allow Exactech, a local-bred medical device company at the forefront of joint replacement, and the O'Connell Center to share the marquee at the home for Gators athletics since 1981. The agreement brings together two Gainesville-based organizations with more than 30 years each of collaborating on education, innovation and health care.

• Read: Chris Harry's story on the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center naming

   

Building Phase

With demolition complete in June, one of the first major steps of the building phase was the installation of precast, which will make up the permanent seating bowl.
 

• Photo Galleries: June walkthrough (by Tim Casey) | Precast installation (by Kelly Streeter)

 

Demolition Phase

The $64.5 million renovation of the Stephen C. O’Connell Center took another major step forwardwith the beginning of the demolition phase in late March.
 
“It’s a culmination of 21 months since we had our first construction meeting,” said UF executive associate athletics director for internal affairs Chip Howard. “The design team and construction management firm have worked really hard, so it’s a big day to finally get underway with a very important, critical project here for the university.”

Chris Harry has more on the beginning of this phase of the O'Connell Center renovation.
 

April Update

Brasfield & Gorrie continued with demolition activities throughout the O'Connell Center. Check out the video below and have a look at the full gallery of where the O'Connell Center renovation project stands as of April 15.
     

New Stephen C. O'Connell Seating

Dear Gators,

As we embark on the construction of our new Stephen C. O’Connell Center, there is great excitement for all of our programs that call this multi-purpose facility their home. The O’Dome has served this University, our athletic association, and the entire North Florida community well over the past 30+ years but the time has come for us to take this campus icon to the next level.

The construction of this new facility will include numerous changes to its layout and design, and as an organization, we are very sensitive to all of the University’s many diverse stakeholders. With that in mind, we are confident that the following plan is the most equitable for all those interested in ordering men’s basketball season tickets for the upcoming 2016-17 season.

Sincerely,


Jeremy Foley
Director of Athletics
 
This is a brand new arena. You are not required to maintain your previous level of contribution or the number of seats you’ve held. When your appointment time arrives, you can select any seat that is available and are only responsible for the required “per seat contribution.”

SEATING LIMITS: There are no limits in the 100 and 200 sections.  All orders in the lower level (Sections 01-29) are limited to the current number of season tickets you have in current level 1 or 2.  However, no orders can exceed 4 club seats or 8 total lower level seats.
 

Seating Guidelines

The process will be based on your ranking within the Gator Boosters Loyalty Point System. This ranking accounts for your consecutive years as a basketball season ticket holder (10 points per year), milestone bonuses for each decade threshold you have achieved (50 points every 10 years), ticket-related giving (1 point for each $100), as well as any financial contributions to our endowment or facility projects (2 points for each $100) that applied to men’s basketball.

How it all works:

• Every season-ticket holder will be required to select new seats.
• Gator Boosters will be assigned a seat selection date and appointment time according to their ranking within the Loyalty Point System.
• Gator Boosters who are not 2015-16 MBK season-ticket holders will be assigned appointment times after all donors have completed their seat selections.
• The selection process will begin in mid-May and will extend through early July.
• In order to make sure the Gator Ticket Office has your most current contact. information, please log into your FloridaGators.com/tickets online account.

Seat Selection Website

Florida Athletics will launch a specific website that will give Gator Boosters the opportunity to navigate and familiarize themselves with the layout of the new arena. This Virtual Venue, is already in place for football. The new O’Connell Center version will be completed in mid-spring and all fans will have the ability to test it in advance of their assigned seat selection appointment time.

Appointment Times

Seat selection appointment times will be assigned to those placing an order for 2016-17 season tickets. All current 2015-16 Gator Boosters & season ticket holders will be placed in order of Loyalty Points. Any non 2015-16 Gator Booster or season ticket holder must place a $100 deposit by April 1, 2016, for an appointment time. Your appointment time represents the earliest time that you can access the system to select seats. Your selection window opens at your appointment time, and then you may select seats at any time until the selection process is complete in late June. There is no time limit; however, please keep in mind that others will be able to select seats as their selection windows open, so we encourage you to choose your seats as close to your assigned time as possible. We anticipate the overall process will require 6-8 weeks.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

HOW WILL SEAT SELECTION PRIORITY BE DETERMINED?
Current 2015-16 basketball season ticket holders (including all Gator Boosters, season ticket holders & faculty/staff) will be ranked by their 2016 basketball Loyalty Point ranking. New 2016-17 season ticket holders will be ranked after all current 2015-16 season ticket holders & must place a deposit of $100 by   April 1, 2016.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO SELECT SEATS WITH MY FRIENDS?
Yes; the membership with the most amount of Loyalty Points that enters Virtual Venue first would need to wait until their friends are also in the Virtual Venue before selecting all their seats simultaneously.

WHEN WILL I KNOW MY APPOINTMENT TIME?
You will be notified in June of your appointment time. Appointments will not begin until mid-June.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I AM NOT AVAILABLE DURING MY APPOINTMENT TIME?
Please make every effort to be available during your scheduled appointment time so you will have the opportunity to select seats. If you realize in advance you will not be available, you have two options:
 

1. Another individual can select your seats for you. You would provide your login information to the other individual and they will be able to log into the website and select the seats for you.
2. You may submit your preferences to a member of the Gator Ticket Office staff and they will select the best available seats for you, based on your preferences.

WHAT IF I’M NOT COMPUTER SAVVY OR DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET?
Virtual Venue is very user friendly but we understand it can be intimidating for some, especially with the nervousness associated with choosing a seat location. You may call the Gator Ticket Office in advance and make them aware that you would prefer to show up in person and select your seats with the assistance of an employee of the athletic association.

WHERE DO MY LOYALTY POINTS RANK?
See the chart below for reference:
 

Loyalty Points Rankings Reference

Rank	Points		Rank	Points		Rank	Points
1	100,400		375	620		1,050	235
10	15,287		400	605		1,100	220
25	4,290		425	590		1,150	200
50	2,000		450	573		1,200	172
75	1,455		475	553		1,250	154
100	1,262		500	530		1,300	125
125	1,119		550	500		1,350	94
150	981		600	476		1,400	80
175	915		650	450		1,450	60
200	838		700	426		1,500	60
225	803		750	392		1,600	40
250	771		800	363		1,650	36
275	728		850	344		1,700	30
300	691		900	320		1,750	24
325	660		950	293		1,800	20
350	635		1,000	560		1,900	10