John Paul Jones Arena

About John Paul Jones Arena

John Paul Jones Arena, opening for the 2006–2007 NCAA Division I basketball season, is located at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. It has seating for 14,593 fans, nearly twice the capacity of 8,457 at Virginia's previous facility, University Hall. 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.

John Paul Jones Arena is named in honor of the father of Paul Tudor Jones, a commodity trader and Virginia alumnus who donated $35 million for the construction of the arena. Paul Tudor Jones earned a B.A. in Economics from the University in 1976. His father, John Paul "Jack" Jones, is a 1948 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law.

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 the Dave Matthews Band, James Taylor, Brad Paisley, Eric Clapton, Cirque du Soleil, Larry the Cable Guy, The Wiggles, Disney on Ice and WWE Monday Night Raw. Other shows held in 2007, include Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blue Man Group, Rascal Flatts, Billy Joel, Justin Timberlake, Maroon5, The Police, High School Musical and Rod Stewart. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band made a stop at the venue on April 30, 2008, in support of Springsteen's 2007 album Magic, as well as The Eagles who made a stop here on May 21, 2008, to promote their 2007 album Long Road Out of Eden, their first studio album in 28 years. 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.