XAVIERSPORTS

New renovation plans announced for Xavier's Cintas Center

Adam Baum
Cincinnati Enquirer
A rendering of the new Center Court Club, part of Xavier University's plan to update Cintas Center with a round of renovations.

Xavier University's athletic department announced Tuesday that renovations are coming for Cintas Center.

The upcoming renovations ‒ beginning this summer with an upgrade to the suites in the 23-year-old arena ‒ will focus on the fan experience with new seating options, expanded hospitality, and additional gathering areas.

It's a two-year project that will be completed in the summer of 2024, ahead of the 2024-25 college basketball season.

Greg Christopher, Xavier's vice president for administration and director of athletics, told The Enquirer this is part of the second phase of plans to modernize Cintas Center.

"The first few projects were very focused on our student-athletes," said Christopher. "Making Cintas the best it can be for the teams that use the Cintas Center."

Those projects included a new strength and conditioning space, a new sports medicine space, an academic center, and locker room renovations.

Xavier's since moved into the arena, "and the things that help make the Cintas Center better for our fans," said Christopher.

"The suites are the next step in that. The suites are, in some ways, probably one of the few places in the building where everything's original."

In preparation for this project, Xavier also considered how fan tastes have changed in more than two decades since the arena opened.

They talked with other institutions, professional teams, and Xavier fans, and decided that instead of 22 suites, they'd transition to 16 suites, but add a new Center Court Club and the Brew House.

The Center Court Club will be positioned on the east concourse, directly at mid-court. It will serve as arguably the best vantage point for Xavier basketball, outfitted with club seats, all-inclusive food, private restrooms and a full bar.

The Brew House will be an open-air bar on the main concourse with seating and a standing-room view of the court.

A rendering of the Brew House, a new open-air bar on the main concourse with seating and a standing-room view of the court, which was announced Tuesday as part of Xavier University's plans to renovate Cintas Center.

There will be several other changes.

The Lookout, built in 2017, will have changes made to improve sight lines and comfort for seat holders. Xavier will also make updates to provide even more opportunities to accommodate fans with accessibility needs.

With these changes and a few other minor tweaks, capacity in the Cintas Center is expected to decrease from the current capacity of 10,224. Because of the seating changes, all Xavier season ticket holders will participate in a new seat selection process in the summer of 2024.

"Each of the changes we’re making will enhance the fan experience and modernize Cintas Center," Brett Sanders, Xavier's assistant athletics director for sales, said in a statement. "Suite level is one of the last pieces of the arena where Cintas Center shows its age.  It’s critical for us to upgrade that experience, and the chance to add a new club at the same time is an opportunity too good to pass up.  Demand for more variety is driving the three major seating changes."

Full details of the seat selection process will be mailed to all season ticket holders later this month. Xavier's process for seat selection is nearly identical to the system used in 2017 following the last major seating renovations in the Cintas Center. The university's Musketeer Points program will serve as the foundation for the selection plan."With the fundamental changes that will occur with our seating manifest – the new Center Court Club and Lookout changes will result in some existing seating being lost – it’s clear that a fair selection process was needed," said Christopher. "The process used in 2017 was well thought out and went smoothly, so we are taking that framework and improving the online portion of the process."The renovation plan is to update the suites on the west side of the arena this summer.

Everything else from the remaining suites, the Center Court Club, Brew House and the Lookout will be done in the summer of 2024.

These new renovation plans are being paid for by fundraising and private donations.

"Our priorities for the Cintas Center remain unchanged – make the building the best it can be for the future of Xavier," said Christopher. "We can never rest on finding ways to improve this facility for our student-athletes and fans alike. Step by step, we're focused on making sure Cintas is ready for the future."For complete details on the seating and hospitality changes, visit the 2024-25 seat selection guide on GoXavier.com.