Higher Education
Longwood University: Joan Perry Brock Convocation Center.
Farmville, Virginia
RRMM teamed with AECOM to provide architectural and engineering services for a new 3,000-seat multipurpose arena at Longwood University. Located in the heart of campus, the new facility will serve as the home for the men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well as other educational, civic, and cultural events. The Joan Perry Brock Center will provide a gathering space for campus events and ceremonial traditions, as well as serving as much-needed location where the student body can assemble. It will attract high-caliber speakers across the region, as well as touring musicians and other performers, ultimately boosting the college-town’s energy. Back of the house program elements include locker rooms for both programs and visiting teams, and a training room. A broadcast coordination studio will allow the athletic department to route video from any of the university’s athletic venue to a single facility to be distributed out for network broadcast or internet streaming.Â
The arena will feature an intimate U-shaped seating bowl with a removable grandstand at the open end to allow a stage to take its place for concerts, convocations, and graduations. Premium seating includes a university suite with seating for 50 guests and unique ‘opera boxes’ in each of the corners of the bowl that feature office chairs, a drink rail, and a back bar.Â