Neville Arena Explained

Neville Arena, formerly Auburn Arena locally known as The Jungle, is a 9,121-seat multi-purpose arena in Auburn, Alabama, on the campus of Auburn University. Built in 2010 to replace Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum, the $86 million facility is the home of the Auburn Tigers men's and women's basketball, women's gymnastics, and women's volleyball teams. It is located on the west side of the Auburn campus, near Wire Road between Thach Avenue and Heisman Drive. Aside from the main court, the arena also contains two practice courts, a weight room, 12 suites, coaches offices, the Auburn Ticket Office, and the Lovelace Athletic Museum. The outside of the arena features a large monument to the Auburn Creed and a statue of former Auburn men's basketball player Charles Barkley.

History

On June 29, 2007, Auburn University announced plans to build a new $92.5 million (eventually completed under budget at $86 million) basketball arena and practice facilities to replace Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.^[6] Auburn held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility 13 months later on August 29, 2008.^[7]

Auburn held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Auburn Arena on October 15, 2010.^[8] That night Auburn held the official grand opening for the new arena. Many celebrities were in attendance, including former Auburn men's basketball player Charles Barkley. The event concluded with a Harlem Globetrotters game.^[9]

The Auburn men's and women's basketball teams played their first competitive games in Auburn Arena in a doubleheader on November 12, 2010. The women's team defeated Mercer 79–61,^[10] and the men's team lost to UNC Asheville 70–69 in overtime.^[11] The men's first win in Auburn Arena came three games later in a 68–66 win over Middle Tennessee.^[12]

On October 22, 2016, Auburn announced that it plans to build a statue of former men's basketball player Charles Barkley to be displayed outside of Auburn Arena.^[13] The statue was unveiled on November 25, 2017, on the morning of the 2017 Iron Bowl.^[14]

On February 8, 2022, the Auburn Athletics Department announced that Auburn Arena's name would be changed to Neville Arena in recognition of the single largest gift in Auburn Athletics history by donors Bill and Connie Neville. The dedication for the official name change took place on March 4, 2022. In addition, Auburn initiated plans for construction of a new practice gym and renovation of the existing practice gym at the Arena.^[15]

Auburn basketball

Notable games

• November 12, 2010 - UNC Asheville 70, Auburn 69 (OT): UNC Asheville defeated Auburn in the first ever men's basketball game played in Auburn Arena.
• November 21, 2010 - Auburn 68, Middle Tennessee 66: Auburn defeated Middle Tennessee for their first ever win in Auburn Arena.
• February 6, 2013 - Auburn 49, Alabama 37: Auburn defeated rival Alabama for the first time in Auburn Arena. Former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton cheered on the Tigers from the front row of The Jungle during the game.
• January 16, 2016 - Auburn 75, Kentucky 70: Auburn defeated #14 Kentucky, snapping Auburn's 18-game losing streak against the Wildcats. The Auburn students stormed the court for the first time in Auburn Arena at the end of the game.
• March 3, 2018 - Auburn 79, South Carolina 70: #19 Auburn defeated South Carolina in the last regular season game of the year, clinching a share of the 2018 SEC regular season championship.
• February 1, 2020 - Auburn 75, Kentucky 66: ESPN's College GameDay visited Auburn for the first time ever, where #17 Auburn defeated #13 Kentucky.
• February 8, 2020 - Auburn 91, LSU 90 (OT): Despite trailing #18 LSU by 8 points with a little over a minute left in regulation, #11 Auburn came back to tie the game and send it into overtime. Auburn took an early lead in overtime, but LSU scored with 9 seconds left to take the lead back. Auburn's J'von McCormick drove the length of the floor and hit the game-winning shot with 0.1 seconds to go.
• January 22, 2022 - Auburn 80, Kentucky 71: In anticipation of an early Saturday matchup between #2 Auburn and #12 Kentucky, Auburn students camped out in sub-freezing temperatures starting day before in order to get into the game. Auburn defeated Kentucky en route to earning their first ever #1 ranking in the next AP poll. After the game, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl dubbed the student campout "Pearlville." Students would camp out in Pearlville for other home games later in the season.
• March 5, 2022 - Auburn 82, South Carolina 71: #5 Auburn defeated South Carolina in the last regular season game of the year, clinching the 2022 SEC regular season championship outright. This was also the first men's basketball game played in the arena after it was renamed Neville Arena.

Average attendance by season

Season	Men's	Women's
2010–11	6,324[16]	3,006[17]
2011–12	6,502[18]	2,501[19]
2012–13	6,257[20]	2,098[21]
2013–14	5,823[22]	2,250[23]
2014–15	7,825[24]	2,055[25]
2015–16	8,216[26]	2,562[27]
2016–17	7,833[28]	2,297[29]
2017–18	8,221[30]	2,139[31]
2018–19	8,156[32]	1,947[33]
2019–20	8,866[34]	1,843[35]
2020–21	1,824[36]	562[37]
2021–22	9,121[38]	1,977[39]
Average	7,050	2,112

Events

Non-Auburn sporting events

Auburn Arena hosted games for the first and second rounds of the 2011 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament.^[40]

Concerts

Since it opened in 2010, Neville Arena has hosted concerts featuring many artists across many different genres. The following is a list of all artists that have performed in Neville Arena.

• The Avett Brothers^[41]
• B.o.B
• The Band Perry^[42]
• Ben Rector^[43]
• Cole Swindell
• Girl Talk^[44]
• Green River Ordinance^[45]
• Hot Chelle Rae
• Ludacris^[46]
• Lupe Fiasco
• Needtobreathe
• The Neighbourhood
• Train
• Young the Giant

See also

• List of NCAA Division I basketball arenas

External links

• Auburn Arena
• Auburn Arena Private Events

Notes and References

1. News: Scenes From Auburn's Arena Groundbreaking. Evan. Woodbery. The Birmingham News. August 29, 2008. November 19, 2011.
2. Web site: A glitzy grand opening for Auburn's new basketball home. AL.com. 2016-03-17.
3. Web site: Auburn Arena, Auburn, Ala.. December 1, 2010. South Central Construction. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.. November 20, 2011.
4. Web site: Auburn Arena. Davis Architects, Inc.. February 20, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150221095449/http://www.dadot.com/project/auburn-arena/. February 21, 2015. dead.
5. Web site: Auburn Arena Basketball Facilities. Auburn University Athletics. 28 January 2021.
6. Web site: Auburn University Announces Plans To Build New Basketball Arena. www.auburntigers.com. 2016-03-17.
7. Web site: Auburn University Breaks Ground on New Basketball Arena. www.auburntigers.com. 2016-03-17.
8. Web site: Opening of Auburn Arena 'Dream Come True'. www.auburntigers.com. 2016-03-17.
9. Web site: A glitzy grand opening for Auburn's new basketball home. AL.com. 2016-03-17.
10. Web site: Fortner's Tigers Win Auburn Arena Opener. Murphy. Mark. November 12, 2010. Scout. February 20, 2015.
11. News: Auburn Opens New Arena with Overtime Loss to UNC-Asheville. Woodbery. Evan. November 12, 2010. The Birmingham News. February 20, 2015.
12. Web site: Tony Barbee, Auburn celebrate first win in new arena. AL.com. 2016-03-20.
13. Web site: Auburn announces plans for Charles Barkley statue. 2016-10-23. ABC News. 2016-11-04.
14. News: Photos: Charles Barkley statue unveiled outside Auburn Arena. 2017-11-28.
15. Web site: Neville Arena: Auburn Trustees approve arena name change, basketball facility improvements. www.auburntigers.com. 2022-02-08.
16. Web site: 2010-11 Auburn Tigers Basketball Season Statistics. Auburn Tigers. 9 March 2015.
17. Web site: 2010-11 Auburn Tigers Basketball Season Statistics. Auburn Tigers. 20 March 2016.
18. Web site: 2011-12 Auburn Tigers Basketball Season Statistics. Auburn Tigers. 9 March 2015.
19. Web site: 2011-12 Auburn Tigers Basketball Season Statistics. Auburn Tigers. 20 March 2016.
20. Web site: 2012-13 Auburn Tigers Basketball Season Statistics. Auburn Tigers. 9 March 2015.
21. Web site: 2012-13 Auburn Tigers Basketball Season Statistics. Auburn Tigers. 20 March 2016.
22. Web site: 2013-14 Auburn Tigers Basketball Season Statistics. Auburn Tigers. 9 March 2015.
23. Web site: 2013-14 Auburn Tigers Basketball Season Statistics. Auburn Tigers. 20 March 2016.
24. Web site: 2014-15 Auburn Tigers Basketball Season Statistics. Auburn Tigers. 9 March 2015.
25. Web site: 2014-15 Auburn Tigers Basketball Season Statistics. Auburn Tigers. 20 March 2016.
26. Web site: 2015-16 Auburn Tigers Basketball Season Statistics. Auburn Tigers. 25 February 2016.
27. Web site: 2015-16 Auburn Tigers Basketball Season Statistics. Auburn Tigers. 20 March 2016.
28. Web site: 2016-17 Auburn Tigers Basketball Season Statistics. Auburn Tigers. 22 March 2017.
29. Web site: 2016-17 Auburn Tigers Basketball Season Statistics. Auburn Tigers. 22 March 2017.
30. Web site: 2017-18 Auburn Tigers Basketball Season Statistics . Auburn Tigers. 19 January 2019.
31. Web site: 2017-18 Women's Basketball Cumulative Statistics. 2022-01-17. Auburn University Athletics. en.
32. Web site: 2018-2019 Men's Basketball Cumulative Statistics. Auburn University Athletics. en. 2019-10-18.
33. Web site: 2018-19 Women's Basketball Cumulative Statistics. 2022-01-17. Auburn University Athletics. en.
34. Web site: 2019-20 Men's Basketball Cumulative Statistics. 2022-01-17. Auburn University Athletics. en.
35. Web site: 2019-20 Women's Basketball Cumulative Statistics. 2022-01-17. Auburn University Athletics. en.
36. Web site: 2020-21 Men's Basketball Cumulative Statistics. 2022-01-17. Auburn University Athletics. en.
37. Web site: 2020-21 Women's Basketball Cumulative Statistics. 2022-01-17. Auburn University Athletics. en.
38. Web site: 2021-22 Men's Basketball Cumulative Statistics. 2022-01-17. Auburn University Athletics. en.
39. Web site: 2021-22 Women's Basketball Cumulative Statistics. 2022-01-17. Auburn University Athletics. en.
40. Web site: Auburn To Host 2011 Women's NCAA Tournament First And Second Rounds. www.auburntigers.com. 2016-03-20.
41. Web site: Avett Brothers, B.o.B and The Neighbourhood coming to Auburn on April 24. AL.com. 2016-03-17.
42. Web site: Tickets available for The Band Perry, Cole Swindell concert in Auburn. OANow.com. 2016-03-17.
43. Web site: NEEDTOBREATHE headlines Auburn's UPC Spring Concert April 25. AL.com. 2016-03-17.
44. Web site: Girl Talk, Lupe Fiasco coming to Auburn University. AL.com. 2016-03-17.
45. Web site: UPC brings Green River Ordinance, Hot Chell Rae and Train to the plains. OANow.com. 2016-03-17.
46. Web site: Rapper Ludacris, entertainer Mike Epps rock the house at Auburn's Jungle Jam (photos). AL.com. 2016-03-17.