A Pre-Game Look at the Fertitta Center’s Progress and Where Its New Seating Sections Will Post Up Inside

The plaza outside UH’s basketball arena — soon-to-feature a statue of the building’s former namesake Roy Hofheinz — is currently a mess of dirt and constructions vehicles working to make the place look like the rendering above. The big red Fertitta Center sign isn’t up yet; it’s set to rise over the glassier new entrance fronting Cullen Blvd.

On the inside, a new scoreboard, new AV equipment, bigger bathrooms and new food and retail are being added. The ceiling is going up 30 ft. above a brand-new court and some lower seating sections, creating a crater-like hole in the roof that — viewed from nosebleed land — will look something like this:

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Capacity will be slightly under 8,480 fans, a reduction from the arena’s previous seat count. The seating chart shows where they’ll all go:

Those opting into the Barcalounger and Lodge Loge sections — indicated in purple — above the west sideline get access to a new concession area between the upper and lower levels of seating which includes a cash bar:

The Lodge Loge seats are colorized in the rendering below:

Barcalounger seats provide even better zone coverage of the food area and include 35-in.-wide reclining armchairs:

Further from the food court and closer to the hard court are these floor seats along the north, east, and south sidelines:

In addition to in-seat food and drink service, ticket-holders in those areas get to strut inside through a private entrance to the stadium.

Photo: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool. Exterior renderings, rendering with seat highlights, and seating chart: University of Houston. Interior renderings: Turner Construction (roof view); University of Houston via Hunter Yurachek (concession area)

Hofheinz No More

10 Comment

  • This clown is starting to remind me of The Cheeto, what with blazing his name on buildings and all. Remember the good ole days when you had to have been long dead before a structure was named after you ? Now you just name it after yourself while you’re still alive.

  • I guess if you’re generous enough to donate $20 million to its construction, it’s fitting that you get the privilege of naming the building.

  • C.L.
    You mean like Hofheinz Pavilion, dedicated in in 1969, and named after Judge Roy Hofheinz, who died in 1982?

  • First, it’s “loge”, not “lodge” seating.
    Second, even state universities have learned how to monetize everything. A private entrance for ticket holders in the best sections? It’s just a college basketball game folks.

  • I think it’s “loge” and not “lodge” seats…

  • @C.L. Apparently you have not been on any college campus in years, every building, bench, tree, and brick is available for naming rights assuming you donate the right amount of money. Doesn’t matter if your dead or alive.

  • @ShadyHeightster: No, it’s “loge”. A “lodge” is a small house. A “loge” is a private box in a theater, or a tier of seats between the upper and lower decks.

  • Wow. I am so out of touch. I actually though a college basketball game would primarily be for the students. But they get a dinky little section with the crappier seats in the house. If I were still in school, I would not step into that place on principle.

    If the student body is not Ticked Off, I will be Ticked Off for them.

  • @Huffman. I didn’t know Hofeinz built the pavilion himself, with his own money. Interesting.

    @Mad Max. Perfect example of narcicism at its finest.

  • Biggest problem with old Hofheinz Pavilion was that the slope of the seating area was too shallow, so you got very far from the court very fast.