The Anderson Center

UMW Ups Its Game With New Arena

The Anderson Center’s state-of-the-art control booth overlooks the court.

A president’s box overlooks the court, as do three coaches’ offices. Nearby are seven locker rooms: three for Eagles basketball and volleyball, two for visiting teams, and two for officials. And the restrooms? Let’s just say that with so many fixtures, there won’t be a lot of waiting.

Rows of seats accommodate more than 2,000 fans. Pressed to the wall, the dark blue bleachers make room for 3,000 on the floor and spell “EAGLES” in gray.

In contrast, Dodd Auditorium seats 1,300 and Woodard Campus Center holds a maximum of 500, standing. Now administrators are counting on the Anderson Center for large events the University has previously been unable to host.

The building was two years in planning, two years in construction, and Hegmann was hands-on the whole time. The former lieutenant and his Army Corps of Engineers platoon had built military housing, runways, and train stations in Vietnam, so he knows his way around building sites and blueprints.

In a three-person team of managers, including Anderson Center Project Manager Glen Dunwoody and UMW Capital Outlay Project Manager Gary Hobson, Hegmann dubbed himself the “athletics guy.” The professor of health and physical education tried to anticipate every detail of what players, coaches, game officials, and fans would need. He consulted with colleagues at other institutions, and he studied construction manuals. He chose flooring, fixtures, designs, lighting, backboards, carpets, tile, colors– “everything that had to do with athletic construction,” Hegmann said.

The UMW seal adorns the main entrance.