Concert promoter giant Live Nation Entertainment and the Oak View Group recently revealed that construction would begin on the Moody Center at the University of Texas at Austin.
The privately financed sports and entertainment arena, which costs $338 million, will hold 15,000 seats and is set to open in 2022. Students and sports fans can look forward to the arena hosting University of Texas basketball games, as well as university, community, high school, and other community events. Music will also be a factor, as the center will be “a must-play arena,” according to Chairman and CEO of Live Nation Michael Rapino said in a release.
Matthew McConaughey, the award-winning actor and professor at the university, signed on as the Minister of Culture at the Moody Center to help with suite designs, color schemes, and a handful of other concepts to help bridge the gap between the university and the city. He noted that he will “convey what a special place the university and the city of Austin are through the design and hospitality of the new Moody Center.”
“It should be the first place the biggest bands in the world want to play, but the last place a visiting basketball team wants to play,” McConaughey said.
The Moody Center is replacing the 42-year-old Frank C. Erwin Jr. Center. Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke noted that as one of the most important and largest universities in the world, the University of Texas now has a “new vision and a new standard on a private-public partnership that will create a world-class venue for the Longhorns and for Austin.”
“This partnership has brought together one of the most recognized universities and brands, the Longhorns, with the world’s leader in content, Live Nation, and the world’s largest developer of new arenas, OVG, with Matthew McConaughey,” Leiweke said. “Those partnerships will create one of the greatest arenas in the world and become the heart and soul for the campus and Austin.”
