LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - The University of Wyoming launched a $30 million renovation of its Arena-Auditorium on Saturday with the announcement of $10 million in private donations.
The court will be named after one of the donors, Cheyenne businessman Maury Brown. A total of 36 donors provided funding after the Legislature committed $10 million in state matching funds to encourage donations. Lawmakers then appropriated $5 million more toward the project.
“We are extremely grateful to all of those individuals who have stepped forward to make this project possible,” athletics director Tom Burman said in a statement. “Cowboy and Cowgirl basketball generate a great deal of passion around our state, and we know how proud the people of Wyoming are of the young men and women who worn the Brown and Gold through the years.”
The 32-year-old facility will undergo a major renovation after the current basketball season ends, including expanded courtside seats with padding, modernized locker rooms and new weight and sports medicine areas. The basketball court will be rotated 35 degrees to allow two full practice courts, and two new video boards will be installed.
A 22-foot-high sculpture depicting former Wyoming All-America basketball player Kenny Sailors will greet fans at a redesigned front entrance to the arena. The sculptor will be Rudy Gunter, a UW graduate from Green River.
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