Changes might be coming to the “heartbeat” of William & Mary in the future.
During a William & Mary interview with Athletic Director Samantha Huge, she said changes to Kaplan Arena are a priority for the Athletics Department moving forward, adding the arena is a central location for the college, describing it as its heartbeat.
“It’s where they come to meet with coaches, academic support personnel and administrators,” she said. “It’s where they come to get stronger.”
Opening in 1971, Kaplan Arena is the home of the school’s varsity basketball team and the Athletic Department, according to the school’s website.
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The most recent changes to Kaplan were in 2005 and 2006 with new additions to the facility. It was during that time the arena was named after Jim and Jane Kaplan who are donors to the department. Most recently, the Kaplans donated $7 million to the men’s basketball team.
Currently, the gym holds about 8,600 people for basketball games.
Huge said the arena in under review to address the facility’s needs.
“We want to ensure that, through Kaplan renovations, we are providing student-athletes optimal, state-of-the-art conditions for success and providing fans a stellar rewarding game-day experience,” she said.
However, it doesn’t look like those changes will be happening in the near future.
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Suzanne Clavet, spokeswoman for the college, said there are currently no renovations underway at the site, adding there is also not a timeline or plan yet.
While Huge called the arena a priority, she also said there were two other areas in the Athletics Department that were also a priority.
The first being program stability and increasing the support for the future of the department and the second as reaching gender equity by 2025.
It remains unclear what steps will be taken to move forward with changes to the Kaplan Arena.
