By Alex Sorrells / Jambar Contributor
Renovations at Beeghly Center will create a VIP section for select courtside ticket holders. The lounge will be completed by mid-September.
The Penguin Club offers season ticket packages for both football and basketball, with more expensive packages including additional rewards.
For the 2025 football season, the highest level package for any member is the “Champions Level” membership for a $5,000 price tag.
The Courtside Coaches Club for the 2025-26 basketball season offers various packages from $75 to $3,600. With special pricing for Champions Level members, this tier allows exclusive access to the new Andrews Lounge Area through the Penguin Club.
Tim Stuart, senior associate athletic director for external operations, said the privately funded updates cost around $500,000 and are necessary due to the age of the facility.
“We have an existing space. It’s our [Courtside Coaches Club] room,” Stuart said. “We’ve really outgrown that area. That space was built close to 20 years ago, maybe 15 years ago.”
Stuart said Penguin Club memberships have increased for basketball, especially after courtside seats were added following last year’s renovations.
“Our sales team has done a great job of … getting people more involved with basketball, and obviously, we’ve had a great product to put out on the floor,” Stuart said.
Stuart said the VIP room isn’t the only project underway, as storage and locker rooms and new media tables are being updated.
Buckeye Construction & Restoration, the company that worked on the M30 Pedestrian Bridge, will be completing the renovations at Beeghly.
Women’s basketball Head Coach Melissa Jackson said previous renovations, such as seating and scoreboard upgrades, has increased attendance and player recruitment.
“The product that we put on the floor, the recruits that we bring to campus — all these enhancements help our recruiting,” Jackson said. “If we can target some of the best recruits in the area, as well as the neighboring states, that will help our program.”
Jackson said updates are being made to the women’s basketball locker room to give players a lounge to use at any time.
“We’re very thankful to the donors that provided the funds to increase our enhancements,” Jackson said. “I thought it was a really good locker room, but for us to come in and do some renovations and make it our own, we’re really excited about that.”
Jackson also said the construction company is working with teams in the facility to avoid disrupting training times.
“We’re blessed to have an unbelievable community that supports women’s basketball. I do think some of the enhancements will continue to help that,” Jackson said. “We have some goals as a program to increase our attendance, even though it is at a really good number.”