Ground breaking of Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena
By Nick Bainbridge// News Editor
During High Point University’s annual Family Weekend event, the ground breaking for the upcoming Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena, Conference Center and Hotel took place. On the evening of Sept. 22, President Nido Qubein, his wife Mariana Qubein, as well as several of their associates and family members gathered to commemorate the start of the construction of the new building.
A performance by Karen Jacobsen, HPU’s Global Artist in Residence, preceded the ceremony. Jacobsen is referred to as “the GPS Girl” due to her role as the Australian female voice of Apple’s personal assistant, Siri. She sang the “Star Spangled Banner” before the Qubeins and then their colleagues began their presentation.
The speakers began talking about their plans for the new facility and took a few moments to welcome honored guests in attendance, including the rest of the Qubein family.
The HPU Board of Directors decided that the new arena and conference center would be named after Qubein and his wife, Mariana, to honor the years they spent facilitating the growth of HPU to the point that this project was feasible.
Qubein was enthusiastic about the project, saying that he was appreciative of the new building’s name.
“My wife and I are privileged to serve this university,” said Qubein. “We are blessed to be able to support it financially, and we are honored to have this astounding facility named for us.”
The new construction will include a variety of features. One of the main areas the new facility will focus on is athletics. The new sports arena for basketball games will be able to seat 4,500 audience members.
Furthermore, Dan Hauser, HPU’s director of athletics, said at the ground breaking that ‘state of the art technology’ will be incorporated into the new strength and conditioning room, which will be larger than the current location on HPU’s campus. There will also be substantially larger locker rooms for athletes’ convenience and advanced camera systems in the practice basketball court to help coaches make more advanced and accurate assessments.
“This will help us to reach our number one priority, and that is the health and safety of our student-athletes,” said Hauser.
Athletics is not the only subject that the new building will facilitate. Aside from the arena, there will also be a conference center capable of seating 2,500 individuals. This conference center will reportedly be a space to host a wide range of events ranging from concerts to lectures, allowing it to be a multi-purpose facility.
The third part of the construction is the new hotel scheduled to be constructed on HPU’s campus. The new hotel will feature a couple of dozen suites and will be used by guests representing organizations that have an interest in touring HPU to provide the prospective students and their families with a better sense of the school’s environment.
The hotel will also facilitate the upcoming hospitality program HPU unveiled. The hospitality field is focussed on topics such as hotel management and how to make guests feel welcome. The new hotel will be a place for students pursuing a career in the hotel industry to learn more about the field and what tactics they should use to maximize customer satisfaction for the benefit of their business. HPU faculty, students and staff excitingly anticipate the new addition to campus.
The Qubein family offcially breaks ground for new Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena. Photo by Nicholas Bainbridge