GCU Arena expansion already feeling pinched

Months of renovations to expand Grand Canyon University Arena might already not be enough.

BY MARK REMILLARD

Nov 10, 2014, 7:00 AM Updated: 9:44 am

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PHOENIX — Months of renovations to expand Grand Canyon University Arena might already not be enough.

During the off-season, GCU President Brian Mueller said the school added about 2,600 new seats inside the arena to allow seating to reach roughly 7,200.

“We’ve added an upper deck around the arena, two decks in the end zone and then telescopic seats to fill out the rest of the end zone,” Mueller said.

But with the large amount of growth the university has experienced in the past several years, Mueller said those additions are already spoken for.

“I was given the chapel address and I was standing as the kids were coming in and I said to our campus pastor, ‘what are we going to do next year? Every single seat is taken,'” he said.

Mueller said demand for the university’s basketball program has grown drastically with former Phoenix Sun Dan Majerle as the team’s head coach and now with the school moving up into Division I of the NCAA.

“When we built the arena we were Division II and we hoped to get to the Division I level and very honestly we got there sooner than we thought,” he said. “Not only did we get there sooner than we thought, but the enthusiasm for this program is just growing by leaps and bounds.”

Despite the school’s growth outpacing the arena’s facilities, Mueller said GCU has no plans of slowing down.

“There’ll be a greater demand than there is supply, but that will work into our favor and then we’ll just where it goes from there,” Mueller said.