To accommodate the growth to come with a new sports arena and business school, Liberty University will build a new 80,000-square-foot, nine story parking garage on East Campus.

The garage will be built in the place of two dormitory buildings near the field hockey and lacrosse fields. The dorms — which hold about 90 students each — will be demolished as soon as students leave in May and construction will begin shortly after.

Dan Deter, vice president of major construction at LU, said the garage should be complete and open by July or August of 2020, just before the new basketball arena opens that fall.

LU’s School of Business is scheduled to open this May, creating an additional need for parking, Deter said.

“I think this is a step in the right direction, it won’t solve all our problems but I think this will take care of the bulk of our needs and take care of us for the next five years,” he said.

The garage will hold 2,000 cars and will have spots for residential and commuter students as well as staff and visitors. It will not eliminate the student parking lot at the mall.