UC close to approving Fifth Third Arena renovations

(Updated 1:17 p.m.) The University of Cincinnati is close to approving a plan that will renovate the Bearcats' Fifth Third Arena on campus at an estimated $70 million to $85 million, The Enquirer has learned.

The 26-year-old building is the main home for UC men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball and has a seating capacity of 13,176. The Enquirer has obtained renderings that show various renovations to the building including the rearranging of some seating, but the exact new capacity is not known.

The Enquirer has previously reported that capacity could be reduced to 10,000, but that information has not been released. The project will not be an expansion but rather a renovation.

The UC Board of Trustees is expected to approve the project soon, possibly at its next meeting in August. The project will be paid for with private funds and some fundraising already is in progress, sources told The Enquirer.

Work is expected to begin immediately after the Bearcats complete the 2015-16 basketball season, meaning possibly sometime around April 2016. UC would have to leave Fifth Third Arena for the 2016-17 season, with US Bank Arena and Cincinnati Gardens among several possibilities considered as a temporary home. It is expected that UC basketball will return to its campus arena for the 2017-18 season.

The plan would include a 360-degree seating bowl, and would replace the current rollaway bleachers with permanent seats. A new roof is planned along with upgrades to concessions, lighting and the heating and cooling systems. Retail kiosks for fans will be located in the upper bowl. Many upper level bench seats will be replaced with chairback seating.

UC athletic director Mike Bohn could not immediately be reached for comment. Bohn and some UC staffers visited the Gardens on a fact-finding tour last month.

UC also is in the midst of an $86 million renovation and expansion of its Nippert Stadium football facility, which is expected to reopen for the 2015 Bearcats football season on Sept. 5 against Alabama A&M.