Gampel Pavilion has a new name and a dramatically different interior, and UConn's men's and women's basketball teams got to see it up close this week. The 1990-era arena on UConn's Storrs campus is now officially the M&T Bank Center at Gampel Pavilion, the product of a 20-year, $32.5 million naming-rights agreement layered on top of a renovation whose price tag has already grown by tens of millions of dollars.
The men's team toured the reconfigured building at 1 p.m., followed by the women's team at 2:30 p.m., with coaches Dan Hurley and Geno Auriemma walking through the transformed space alongside their players, according to CT Insider. Athletic director David Benedict said both squads “were blown away” by what they saw, per the same report. The two programs, which have combined for 18 national championships, had been practicing at the adjacent Werth Champions Center for months while crews worked inside the arena.
A Roof Fix and a Rebranded Court
The renovation has already tackled what CT Insider's report described as the arena's sometimes-leaky roof, and the project has added new state-of-the-art training and gathering spaces as part of what Benedict called “a significant expansion.” Roughly half of the overall construction work is done, with areas that once held back-of-house functions converted into finished, functional space, the outlet reported.
The naming-rights piece of the deal closed out Wednesday when UConn's Board of Trustees approved the agreement, according to Hartford Business Journal, which notes Gampel Pavilion has served as the home court for UConn basketball since it opened in 1990. The M&T Bank logo is set to appear on the court itself, and exterior signage bearing the bank's name is being swapped in, the Sports Business Journal reported. Per CT Insider, the new M&T Bank signs are expected to go up on the arena exterior next week.
What UConn Expects to Earn
Averaged out, the $32.5 million deal works out to about $1.625 million a year for UConn, CT Insider reported. Benedict framed that figure as a floor rather than a ceiling, telling the outlet the state had hoped for UConn to generate a 20 percent return on its bond investment in the arena, but that his team intends to clear that bar by a wide margin. “If the starting point is a 32.5 percent return, that's the minimum we're going to do,” Benedict said, per CT Insider, which also reported he projected the eventual return could top 50 percent over time. UConn also plans to pursue additional naming-rights opportunities for private donors and corporations inside the building, the outlet noted.
The arena renovation itself was originally financed with $99.4 million in non-tax revenue from UConn 2000 bonds, according to UConn's University Planning, Design and Construction office. That bond funding, authorized by the Connecticut General Assembly, was intended to let the university leverage state investment into new revenue, Benedict said, per CT Insider. But the project's cost has since climbed: the Board of Trustees approved an additional $21.3 million in funding, pushing the total projected cost to $120.7 million, the Daily Campus reported.
Concessions Overhaul and a Shared Locker Room
Fans will notice the changes well beyond the new name on the building. UConn plans to boost the number of points of sale from more than 20 to more than 80, convert an upper-bowl golf training area into a concession space, and add revamped, more spacious self-serve concession areas, according to CT Insider's reporting. Benedict said the arena will have a full kitchen and marketplace areas where food is prepared in front of customers starting next year.
The project also includes a new locker room shared by both basketball programs that is electronically tailored to each team on game days, per the same CT Insider account. UConn's University Planning office separately confirmed the project includes a comprehensive Basketball Gameday Suite with recruiting, sports medicine, coaches' lounge, conference and athletics meeting spaces, along with new grab-and-go concessions planned for each of the four corners of the arena bowl.
Phase Two and the Road Ahead
UConn's women's team is slated to christen the reconfigured arena against Iowa on November 8, with the men's team following against Wagner the next night, CT Insider reported. The university's planning office lists Phase 1 of the project as expected to wrap in November 2026, lining up with those season-opening dates.
Phase 2 work is expected to begin in March 2027 and will include expanding the north entrance, enclosing the area under the overhang in glass, and creating additional concourse space, per CT Insider's reporting. That phase will also rebuild current athletic leadership and compliance offices into large public areas, split roughly evenly between a club space and a marketplace. UConn Athletics has said separately that Phase 2 will add premium gameday spaces, philanthropy-focused areas and a student-athlete training table and nutrition center, with the work expected to be ready in advance of the 2027-28 season.
A third phase, an HVAC renewal meant to stop condensation from dripping onto the basketball court, is slated to begin in fall 2028, according to the Daily Campus. The broader partnership with M&T Bank will also support academic and athletic priorities beyond the arena itself, according to a statement from M&T Bank.
