Arena Updates

A committee of Miami University faculty, staff, and alumni reviewing locations for a potential new multipurpose arena made the recommendation to President Crawford to build the proposed arena at Cook Field. The committee considered feedback from more than 1,500 Miamians, as well as information about the sites and campus planning from the Physical Facilities Department Office of Planning, Architecture, and Engineering.

The Cook Field site was chosen because it provides better convenience and facilitation for concurrent, student-centered activities like commencements, concerts, university events and programming like Make it Miami, creative arts performances, career fairs, high school graduations and games and more. Also that site does not require the removal of existing buildings and the location allows for additional development that might include a new hotel, conferencing facilities, facilities for Farmer School of Business programming and other opportunities that other sites would not have accommodated. The Cook Field site, which is close to the North Parking Garage, will also allow for additional parking and improved control of traffic flow at the intersection of State Route 73 and U.S. 27.

Construction of new recreation facilities at Millett and Chestnut Fields is expected to begin in May 2026 and be completed in September 2026. This will allow Cook Field to go off-line in September 2026 to begin construction of the new arena. The arena is expected to be complete for the beginning of the athletic season in the fall of 2028.

Renovating Millett Hall would not help the university with its long-term goals. Just addressing the basic building needs and making necessary facility improvements in Millett is expected to cost at least $115 million, and those costs will continue to increase until the work would be accomplished. In addition, this space was built before there was women’s basketball or volleyball at Miami, and with the current design, three teams are sharing inadequate space that cannot be renovated in the current footprint. It would cost at least an additional $60 million to create the practice space needed for three varsity programs. It would be a large investment in an aging building that would still leave the university with challenges related to systems operations and maintenance, ADA codes, and modernizing the fan experience. These are all challenges that Millett currently faces and a new multi-purpose facility with adequate space would address.

Geothermal wells have been drilled on the south lawn (between Millett Hall, Sycamore Street, and Bonham Road). Because the wells and the piping that connects them are about 4-feet deep, buildings are unable to be built over top of them. It would not be practical to remove the existing Millett Hall and then build a new building in its place.

In addition to those costs, there are significant financial costs and operational hurdles that would be incurred for taking Millett Hall offline for multiple years and not having an on-campus building for teams to operate out of. No appropriate facilities exist on campus or in the Oxford area for teams to practice at or play in. The university would have to incur further expense and likely damage the Athletics programs of the respective sports by renting space far from campus, transporting student-athletes the additional distance, while ceding home court advantage. This circumstance would also place undue burden on student-athletes and coaches.

While the 2025-’26 men’s and women’s basketball historic seasons have attracted unprecedented high attendance, we are following best practice and planning for an arena capacity that is commensurate with historic demand, room to grow, and the capacity to host large non-athletics events like commencement or concerts.

A tighter space also enhances the fan experience by creating a more engaging atmosphere and strengthening the sense of community, while also providing better fan experience amenities for everyone attending, to include good seats no matter where you are in the arena. This will make the facility more lively and energetic, and allow the university to maximize revenue generation, drive ticket sales, and generate more sponsorships and outside events, which has in many ways been difficult while operating in Millett Hall.

The university is investing about $13 million to expand and upgrade student intramural fields. Intramural soccer and flag football fields are planned at the Millett Hall site, along with a walking path and exercise stations. There are also plans for a multi-purpose field supporting full-size soccer fields, softball fields, flag football fields, rugby field, lacrosse field, and intramural soccer fields at Chestnut Fields.

The university expects both the Chestnut and Millett recreation areas to be complete prior to taking Cook Field offline for the arena project.

The Oxford Campus offers ample green space that may be used in many ways. In addition to having many fields and quadrangles welcoming outdoor activities, Miami is home to abundant natural areas with hiking trails. Miami has also partnered with the City of Oxford and the Oxford community to construct the Oxford Area Trail System (OATS) that may be accessed from campus in several locations and soon will ultimately lead to the Chestnut Fields location. Comprising over 2,000 acres, the campus and the natural areas offer an abundance of outdoor recreation opportunities.

ROTC programs will relocate to a newly renovated Harris Hall on south campus.

The Cook Field site has a large footprint with abundant space that affords the ability to add additional facilities to include more parking. Additional surface parking is currently planned to be built adjacent to the development.

Additional parking is planned for the arena. The new surface lot adjacent to the arena should add parking for students during the day in that area.

The location at the intersection of State Route 73 and U.S. 27 will allow for improved control of traffic flow, with direct entrance and exit from SR 73, which would limit traffic congestion on campus. The location will also mitigate the traffic backups and congestion that occur when entering/exiting Millett.

The expected investment for arena construction is about $242 million, with up to $281 million authorized by the Board for the arena, and associated ancillary costs (e.g. new fields at the Millett site, taking down Millett, creating parking near Cook Field, renovating space for ROTC, etc.).

The university is not proposing any increase in tuition to pay for the arena nor will any costs be passed onto students. In addition, the University’s Tuition Promise ensures that tuition, housing and meals, special purpose fees, and course fees are frozen over the four years of a student’s Miami Experience.

As the marquee project of the university’s billion dollar fundraising campaign “For Love. For Honor. For those who will,” the multipurpose arena is expected to be funded in part through philanthropy, as well as the issuance of bonds. The increased debt service for the arena project would be funded through an increased annual draw on investment income of about $10.2 million per year and annual savings from retiring debt.

As the university considers building the arena and practice facilities, it is concurrently considering other related or enabling projects including: building new recreational (intramural) fields and facilities, demolishing Millett Hall, providing space for its ROTC programs, additional parking, improving utilities infrastructure at or near the site, as well as other projects that may help build a foundation for an events district in the heart of campus.

The arena project can provide the foundation for an events district in the heart of campus with a hotel, dining and potentially a conference center, all with easy access by students, visitors and the entire Miami community.

This new destination for campus and community events like commencements and high school graduations, concerts, conferences, city events, lectures, creative arts performances, career fairs, academic fairs, etc. will bring people to Oxford who might otherwise not have visited, and they will spend money here while they visit.