Laramie, Wyo. (Nov. 2, 2017) -- The Rededication Ceremony for Wyoming's Arena-Auditorium will take place on Friday, Nov. 1 at 2:30 p.m. on the east concourse of the Arena-Auditorium.  Wyoming Governor Matt Mead, University of Wyoming President Laurie Nichols and UW Athletics Director Tom Burman are all scheduled to speak.

Donors to the $30 million project will be recognized at the ceremony and an 18-foot tall statue of Wyoming All-America basketball player Kenny Sailors will be unveiled.  Longtime donor Maury Brown, for whom the Arena court is named, and sculptor of the Sailors statue, Thomas Jay Warren, will also address those attending the ceremony.
 
The rededication will take place prior to a night of doubleheader basketball games.  The Cowgirl Basketball team will tip off its 2017-18 season at 5:30 p.m. in an exhibition game against Chadron State.  That game will be followed by the Cowboy Basketball team hosting Regis in an exhibition game at 8:30 p.m.
 
"We are extremely excited to reveal to Cowboy and Cowgirl fans a new Arena-Auditorium," said UW Athletics Director Tom Burman.  "Phase II of this project focused on upgrading those areas that benefit our fans.  The rededication ceremony will provide us an opportunity to thank and recognize the many donors who made this project possible and to thank Governor Matt Mead and members of the Wyoming Legislature whose support enabled us to design and construct a beautiful facility.

"We also will be honoring a great man and one of the great Cowboys of all-time when we reveal the Kenny Sailors statue.  Kenny's statue will be a centerpiece for our program for years to come.

"Finally, we will be recognizing another great man with the opening of Mickey's to honor the legacy of Mick McMurry.  Mick and Susie McMurry, through the McMurry Foundation, made a generous gift to fund the new Club Area when we started this project, and we felt it only right to name it after Mick, who was a great benefactor to this university and to the state of Wyoming."
    
Construction of Phase II of the Arena-Auditorium renovation was completed by Sletten Construction of Wyoming, Inc. at a cost of $17 million.  Architectural services were provided by Sallie Means, AIA, Owner of By Architectural Means of Cheyenne, Wyo.  The project manager for the Arena-Auditorium renovation was Rachael Sisneros, Project Manager Senior for UW Facility Construction Management.
   
The recently completed Phase II of the AA renovation was focused on enhancing areas that benefit fans.  A new Grand Entryway will welcome fans on the east side of the Arena-Auditorium.
  
As part of that new Grand Entryway will be the Sailors Gallery, honoring the many accomplishments of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee.  Sailors led Wyoming to the 1943 NCAA Championship, was a two-time All-American in 1943 and '46 and is recognized as the developer of the modern-day jump shot.  Sailors passed away on Jan. 30, 2016, at the age of 95.
  
A wall recognizing the donors to the project will be a part of the Sailors Gallery.  
   
The Kenny Sailors statue was sculpted by Thomas Jay Warren of Warren Sculpture Studios, Inc. of Rogue River, Ore.  It measures 18 feet tall and weighs 2,000 pounds.  Mr. Warren had the opportunity to speak with Kenny Sailors twice during the sculpting process to assure accuracy of the sculpture.  The bronze sculpture was cast at Mussi Artworks Foundry in Berkeley, Calif.  Among other sports sculptures created by Warren are: "The First Football Game Monument" at Rutgers University; the statue of international tennis champion Althea Gibson in Newark, N.J.; and a statue of Baseball Hall of Famer Monte Irvin in Orange, N.J.
  
One of the new fan amenities will be a brand new Brown and Gold fan store located near the main entrance on the east side of the Arena-Auditorium.  The fan store will offer Cowboy and Cowgirl fans a much larger area to shop with a wider variety of merchandise.
   
Other new fan areas include: nine completely redesigned concession areas that will offer expanded menus.  All concession stands will include new electronic menu boards and graphic signage.  Concession areas are designed with a more open concept in order to better serve fans on game days.
    
Beer sales will be incorporated into the Arena-Auditorium for the first time this season.  There will be five beer sales locations around the concourse at Portals 1, 5, 9, 13 and in the new Mickey's area across from Portal 10.  All beer sales locations will feature the state-of-the-art "Bottoms Up" pouring system.
   
Mickey's will be a club area available for UW Athletics donors on game days  and will be available for rent for special events on a limited basis.  It will be located in the center of the new entry way immediately behind the Sailors Gallery.
    
Another enhancement being added to better serve Cowboy and Cowgirl fans is a new ticketing sales location at the Grand Entryway.
    
Fans will notice a unique graphic theme at the four major entrances to the Arena.  The graphic theme recognizes key geographical locations in Wyoming, including: Devils Tower, Flaming Gorge, the Grand Teton Range and Vedauwoo.
   
Encircling the inner wall of the concourse will be a decade-by-decade history of UW Athletics.  A new UW Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame wall will be located near the Grand Entryway.  There will be two interactive touch screen kiosks adjacent to the Hall of Fame wall.  These two kiosks, located across the concourse from Mickey's, will allow fans to access information on inductees to both the UW Athletics Hall of Fame and the Wyoming Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
   
An elevator to provide easier access for disabled fans to court level has been installed between Portal 1 and Portal 20. 
    
Additional restrooms have been added for both men and women and all existing restrooms have been remodeled. 
    
The concourse remodeling also includes new lighting, paint and fixtures.
    
Phase I of Wyoming's Arena-Auditorium renovation project cost $13 million and officially launched on Jan. 25, 2014, when the University of Wyoming recognized the generosity of private donors and the generous support provided to the project by the Wyoming State Legislature. 
   
The $30-million redesign and enhancement of the Arena-Auditorium is the largest fundraising effort for Wyoming Basketball in school history. 
    
Construction on Phase I of the Arena-Auditorium renovation began in the Spring of 2014 and was completed prior to the start of the 2014-15 season.
   
Phase I of the project included new spaces created for the Cowboy and Cowgirl locker rooms.  New strength and conditioning, sports medicine and visiting locker-room areas were also created in Phase I.  The court area was reoriented 35 degrees and expanded to provide the Cowboys and Cowgirls with additional practice space. 
   
The biggest change in fan amenities during Phase I of the project was all new seating in the lower bowl below the concourse level.  All lower-bowl seating features new padded chair-back seats that were expanded to a width of 22 inches -- compared to the previous Arena seats that were 18 inches wide.  Courtside seating was expanded up to the edge of the court to help add to the Arena's outstanding home-court advantage for both Cowboy and Cowgirl games.
    
Two new HD video boards were installed in Phase I along with a new video control room that links to both the AA video boards and the video board in War Memorial Stadium.  In addition, to the video boards a new sound system, court-side scoreboards and enhanced lighting were part of Phase I.