Moody Center

Last updated
Moody Center
Moody Center logo.svg
Moody Center Front Plaza.jpg
Rendering of the arena's entrance
Moody Center
Full nameMoody Center
Address2001 Robert Dedman Drive
Location Austin, Texas, U.S.
Coordinates 30°16′51.5″N97°43′49.7″W / 30.280972°N 97.730472°W / 30.280972; -97.730472
Owner University of Texas at Austin
Operator Oak View Group and University of Texas at Austin
Capacity 16,223 (total) [1]
10,763 (UT basketball) [2]
Record attendance16,223 [3]
Construction
Broke groundDecember 3, 2019
OpenedApril 20, 2022
Construction cost$375 million (original) / $375 million (current estimate)
ArchitectGensler
Structural engineer Walter P Moore
Tenants
Texas Longhorns (men's and women's basketball) (2022–present)
Austin Gamblers (PBR) (2022–present)
Website
moodycenteratx.com

Moody Center is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin (UT) in Austin, Texas. The arena, which replaced the Frank Erwin Center, stands on a former parking lot located immediately south of UT's soccer/track and field venue, Mike A. Myers Stadium. [4] The arena seating capacity totals over 15,000 seats.

Contents

History

In 2018, it was announced that Oak View Group and UT agreed to form a public-private partnership, to build a new $375 million arena. The arena was intended to replace replace the Frank Erwin Center as the home for the Texas Longhorns basketball programs, and will also function as a world-class events center for the city of Austin. [5] [6] The new arena is named the Moody Center following the Moody Foundation's grant of $130 million to the university. Oak View Group funded the construction, and manages the building in exchange for the right to keep most of the income from non-UT events, such as concerts and shows, for at least the first 35 years after opening. [7] UT, however, owns the land under the arena and will be the owner of the building. Under the terms of the agreement, the university will have exclusive control of the arena for 60 days each year to hold men's and women's basketball games, graduations, and other events. [7] Oak View Group, along with partners Live Nation and C3 Presents, will have the right to hold events on the other days. [7]

The groundbreaking ceremony took place just south of Mike A. Myers Soccer Stadium on December 3, 2019. [4] The arena held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 19, 2022 and opened to the public on April 20 with a two-night concert featuring John Mayer. [8] George Strait and Willie Nelson had two shows on April 29–30, 2022. [9] Dave Matthews Band performed the opening night of their 2022 Summer Tour on May 11. [10]

The arena held its first UFC event on June 18, 2022, hosting UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Emmett . [11] The UFC returned to the arena for UFC on ESPN: Dariush vs. Tsarukyan on December 2, 2023. [12]

Harry Styles performed a six-show residency at the arena in September and October 2022, the most shows ever by a single artist, as part of his Love On Tour. [13]

The arena hosted the MF & DAZN: X Series 003 event for Deen the Great vs. Walid Sharks on November 19, 2022. [14]

The Texas Longhorns men's basketball team held their home opener November 7, 2022 at the Moody Center against the UTEP Miners. The Longhorns marked their first home victory at the arena outscoring UTEP 72-57 with an attendance of 11,313 spectators. [15]

Olivia Rodrigo performed one night there on February 28, 2024 for her Guts World Tour.

The arena hosted the CMT Music Awards on April 2, 2023, and again on April 7, 2024.

Monster Jam was also hosted at the arena, on April 22, 2023 and June 8, 2024.

Non-University of Texas at Austin tenants

Since 2022, the Moody Center has been the home venue of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR)'s Austin Gamblers during the PBR Team Series season held every summer through autumn.

In an attempt to expand their market reach into Austin, the San Antonio Spurs played two home games at the Moody Center on April 6 and 8, 2023 against the Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves respectively, marking the first NBA regular season games to be played in Austin. [16] The first game brought in a sell-out crowd of 16,023. [17] The Spurs returned to Moody Center on March 15 and 17, 2024 against the Denver Nuggets and Brooklyn Nets respectively. The Spurs will return to Moody Center on February 20 and 21, 2025 against the Phoenix Suns and Detroit Pistons respectively.

The Moody Center will play host to the Playoff Stage of the BLAST.tv Austin Major, an upcoming Counter-Strike 2 Major, in June of 2025. The Major is the biggest event in Counter-Strike esports, with teams from all over the world qualifying. [18]

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References

  1. ↑ "Jokic scores 31, Nuggets top Spurs 117-106 in front of record crowd in Austin".
  2. ↑ "Texas men, new Moody Center both pass the eye test in Longhorns' season-opening win". Austin American-Statesman. 8 November 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  3. ↑ "Spurs break their own attendance record for largest sporting event at Moody Center". 15 March 2024.
  4. 1 2 "New University of Texas Arena to be Named Moody Center". Arena Digest. 2019-11-11. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  5. ↑ Daniel, Cody (December 20, 2018). "The University of Texas, Oak View Group agree to build 'world-class' on-campus arena". Burnt Orange Nation . Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  6. ↑ Maas, Jimmy (December 20, 2018). "UT Regents Approve Arena Proposal To Replace Frank Erwin Center". KUT . Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 "Get it in writing: Texas gets 60 protected dates, all gameday revenue in Moody Center contract". Austin American Statesman. 2020-06-26. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  8. ↑ Gates, Billy (2022-04-18). "Moody Center set for its grand opening, ribbon-cutting ceremony". KXAN. Archived from the original on 2022-04-26. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  9. ↑ "George Strait - Moody Center - Austin, Texas". Moody Center. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  10. ↑ "DMBAlmanac.com²". Dmbalmanac.com. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  11. ↑ "UFC Fight Night Austin". moodycenteratx.com. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  12. ↑ "UFC Fight Night". moodycenteratx.com. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  13. ↑ Johnston, Abby (September 26, 2022). "Moody Center Becomes Harry's House for Styles' First of Six Nights". www.austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  14. ↑ Netherton, Alexander (15 November 2022). "Deen The Great vs. Walid Sharks: Date, start time, TV channel and live stream". DAZN. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  15. ↑ "UTEP vs. Texas - Game Recap - November 7, 2022". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  16. ↑ O'Connell, Chris (2023-03-21). "Spurs Week plans Austin takeover with Casa de Spurs, free concert". mySA. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  17. ↑ "Spurs edge short-handed Trailblazers, but a win is a win for struggling San Antonio" . Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  18. ↑ Schnitker, Andrew (June 14, 2024). "Austin's Moody Center to host major esports competition with $1.25M prize pool". KXAN-TV . Retrieved June 14, 2024.
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