John Paul Jones Arena

John Paul Jones Arena

Location	295 Massie Road Charlottesville, VA 22903
Coordinates	38.046°N 78.507°W / 38.046; -78.507
Owner	University of Virginia
Operator	SMG
Capacity	14,593 (basketball)
Record attendance	15,219 (11/12/06 vs. Arizona)
Construction
Broke ground	May 30, 2003
Opened	August 1, 2006
Construction cost	$131 million ($217 million in 2024 dollars)
Architect	VMDO Architects
Structural engineer	Ellerbe Becket
General contractor	Barton Malow
Tenants
Virginia Cavaliers (Men's & Women's Basketball)

John Paul Jones Arena, or JPJ, is an arena owned by the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. Since its opening in 2006, it has served as the home to the Virginia Cavaliers men's and women's basketball teams, as well as for concerts and other events. It has seating for 14,593 fans, nearly twice the capacity of Virginia's previous basketball facility, 8,457-seat University Hall. John Paul Jones Arena is the largest indoor arena in Virginia.

History

The design features pergolas on the outside to tie in the design with Scott Stadium, UVA's football facility. This style is known as Jeffersonian architecture, reminiscent of the many buildings designed by Thomas Jefferson on UVA's grounds and nearby.

The arena is named in honor of Greenwich, Connecticut billionaire Paul Tudor Jones's father, John Paul Jones, a 1948 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law. Paul Tudor Jones, who earned a B.A. in Economics from UVA in 1976, donated $35 million for the construction of the arena. The arena is not named after the American naval hero John Paul Jones, or after Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones.

The arena plays host to not only basketball games, but a wide variety of concerts, performances and other events; for example, its opening season in 2006 includes events such as Cirque du Soleil, Larry the Cable Guy, The Wiggles, Disney on Ice & WWE Monday Night Raw.

Jimmy Buffett made a stop here on his "Summerzcool" tour on November 17, 2009, his first stop in Charlottesville in two decades.

In addition to this, the arena has office space for SMG staff, the UVa athletics media relations department, video services and dining services. It also features coaches' offices, practice facilities and an extensive sports medicine facility for men's and women's basketball teams.

The arena's first event was Cirque du Soleil's Delirium on Tuesday, August 1, 2006, but the official Grand Opening event was a two-night tour-ending stand by Charlottesville natives Dave Matthews Band, September 22–23, 2006. An "open house" event for the local community was conducted on July 22, 2006.

In February 2007, the arena was awarded the title of "Best New Major Concert Venue" at Pollstar's 18th Annual Concert Industry Awards.

Basketball

John Paul Jones Arena during the final ACC game of 2006-2007, in which they defeated Virginia Tech to clinch at least a share of the ACC title.

The University of Virginia opened the John Paul Jones Arena on November 12, 2006 with a pair of victories. The Virginia women's basketball team defeated Old Dominion University 92–72 in the afternoon. Later that evening in front of a capacity crowd of 15,219, the Virginia men's basketball team defeated #10 ranked Arizona 93–90, rallying from a 19-point first-half deficit. Both games included elaborate pre-game festivities that featured a fireworks display and the Cavalier mascot rappelling from the rafters. Michael Buffer was introduced to announce the Virginia starting lineup prior to the men's game.

On February 1, 2007, the Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team defeated the #8 Duke Blue Devils 68–66 in overtime, marking their first win over Duke since February 2002. The Cavaliers trailed by eight points with 3:42 left in regulation but their defense held Duke without a field goal for the final 8:42 of the game, including all of overtime. With 24.8 seconds left in regulation, a Sean Singletary 15-footer forced the extra period; Singletary also hit the game-winning basket with one hand while falling backward with one second left in overtime. The win marked Virginia's fifth ACC victory in a row and ended Duke's own five-game winning streak.

On March 1, 2007, the men's basketball team defeated Virginia Tech 69–56, clinching a share of first place in the final ACC regular season standings for the 2006–2007 season. The victory marked the school-record 16th home win of the season, and the Cavaliers finished 16–1 for the season in their new arena. Furthermore, Virginia went an undefeated 8–0 in league games at home for the first time since the Hoos went 7–0 at home in 1982. Also at this game, the fans in attendance said goodbye to two fourth-year players, J. R. Reynolds and Jason Cain, both of whom had contributed to the Virginia basketball program.

On February 28, 2013 Virginia upset #3 Duke which led to thousands of fans rushing the court. The 2012-2013 Cavaliers set a school record with 18 regular season home wins, finishing with a home record of 18-1.

On March 1, 2014, Virginia (then ranked #12) beat #4 Syracuse at JPJ to win the ACC regular season title outright (i.e., with no ties) for the first time since the 1980–81 season. This win also set two school records: Virginia's first season with sixteen conference wins, and eighteen consecutive home conference wins (a streak which began in the previous season). The same day, the Virginia student section, the "Hoo Crew," won the 2014 Naismith Student Section of the Year award. It was the final home game for future NBA players Joe Harris and Akil Mitchell, as well as former walk-on player Thomas Rogers; Rogers' three-point field goal at the end of the game, and the subsequent reaction by the crowd and team, were particularly noted by media and the Cavalier fanbase.

Other events

On October 17, 2009, Metallica played their "World Magnetic" tour at the arena, supported by Lamb of God and Gojira. The arena became the site of the disappearance of 20-year-old Virginia Tech student Morgan Dana Harrington from the concert. She mysteriously left the arena in search of a restroom, despite 18 female restrooms being provided inside the secured arena. A "no return on exit" policy was enforced. Harrington’s skeletonized body was found at Anchorage Farm, Albemarle County on January 26, 2010. No person has been charged, but in September 2014 Virginia State Police announced a forensic link exists between the Harrington case and the suspect in the disappearance that same month of Hannah Graham, a University of Virginia student. One week after Graham's disappearance, the arena served as the staging ground for a volunteer search effort.

On December 5, 2009 Phish played the final show of their 2009 Fall Tour at the arena. At the beginning of a first set "Ya Mar", an erratic fan ran on stage fully naked. He hugged guitarist Trey Anastasio and kissed him on the cheek. He made three laps around the stage before finally being run down by security. Anastasio proceeded by saying, "Let's hear it for the naked guy, pick him up, that took a lot of balls." Later on, the lyrics of "Ya Mar" stated "he was a naked pa", and "Run like an Antelope" was changed to "Run like a Naked Guy, out of control".

In September 2010, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) brought their Built Ford Tough Series tour to JPJ Arena; prior to this, the arena had hosted an event on the PBR's Enterprise Tour (which was one of the PBR's minor league tours that was eventually combined with the other minor league tours to create the Touring Pro Division in 2010).

External links

• John Paul Jones Arena Official Website
• Virginia Athletics Foundation website on the project
• SMG - Private management firm that runs the arena and books events
• VMDO's Special John Paul Jones Arena Web Section
• Photo Tour of John Paul Jones Arena
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