Georgia State Basketball is in the midst of a long road trip but a local firm that was in the mix for the bid for the new Convocation Center project has released proposal renderings of what the Panthers new home could look like very soon. Praxis3, an Atlanta based firm located just blocks from GSU's campus on Peachtree Street, described the project this way on their site:

"PRAXIS3’s design for the Convocation Center at Georgia State University proposes an iconic new landmark on GSU’s South Campus that will play an integral part in raising the University’s national and international profile. One of the key aspects of the design is a covered public plaza that provides an outdoor gathering space whose flexible design allows it to be active every day, not just on game days. In addition, the design seeks to integrate athletics-adjacent academic programs such as Kinesiology, Health, Nutrition, and Student Media Facilities to encourage year-round utilization of the facility. This unrealized design was produced in collaboration with Populous as part of the design proposal to the Georgia Board of Regents."

Head coach Ron Hunter and the Panthers could be running the floor as soon as the 2021-22 season according to early construction projections. That could mean that signees who inked in the November signing period last month could very well be entering their Junior season in a brand new 200,000 square foot state-of-the-art basketball facility.

The facility is expected to be a multi-use facility located on the northwest corner of Fulton Street and Capitol Avenue between Interstate 20 and the former Turner Field’s northern most parking lots. Ramesh Vakamudi, GSU’s Assistant Vice President for Facilities Management Service, described the vision for the project in an interview with Maggie Lee of the Saporta Report in January:

"What we’re envisioning for the proposed facility is a 200,000-square foot, multiuse state-of-the-art facility to support various athletic events, conferences, commencements, graduation ceremonies, convocation … large gatherings, concerts. It’ll also be the court for GSU basketball games, though the Sports Arena will continue as the home (offices, training and practice) for basketball. Currently we don’t have on campus a large indoor assembly area, so this facility … proposed at about an 8,000-seat capacity … would provide much sorely needed gathering space."

The next step in the Convocation Center approval process is for the Board of Regents to send the approved budget, in which the project is an item listed on the agenda (see Page 52 HERE) to the Governor. That is expected to happen in January.

Additional photos can be found on Praxis3's website found HERE.

Keep it locked to PantherTalk.com for the very latest on the Convocation Center Project and the new Arena for GSU Basketball...