DAHLONEGA, Ga. — The University of North Georgia (UNG) broke ground on a long-awaited $33 million convocation center at the Dahlonega Campus Friday. When it opens in 2018, the 103,000-square-foot facility will have a seating capacity of up to 3,600, more than three times that of Memorial Hall which it will replace.

“We are really excited about the new convocation center for UNG, as it will be a transformational facility for UNG,” Mac McConnell, UNG’s senior vice president for business and finance, said.

Memorial Hall was constructed in 1960 with a fixed-seating capacity of 1,049. Enrollment at then-North Georgia College was only 794 students. Today, UNG serves a growing enrollment of more than 17,000 students across five campuses and is one of the state’s largest public universities. Enrollment on the Dahlonega Campus alone has increased to more than 7,000 students.

The convocation center will be located just off Morrison Moore Parkway and will serve multiple uses, including academic courses, physical training activities, and university events such as commencement ceremonies, athletic events and meetings.

The 38,600-square-foot concourse level, where the facility entry will be located, surrounds and overlooks the event area, providing views of the activity taking place below. The concourse level also will include several of the facility’s classrooms and multipurpose areas.

From the concourse level, guests to the facility go down into the nearly 57,000-square-foot event level of the convocation center, which will include both fixed and collapsible seating in the main event area and several classrooms, labs and dressing rooms.

A third, lower level of the facility includes a little less than 7,000 square feet of faculty offices and storage space. On the exterior, plans include both entry and student plazas and landscaping and walkways to connect the facility to the existing UNG Alumni House, located nearby, and parking areas.

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approved plans for the Convocation Center in 2014, and, with leadership from north Georgia legislators, including Sen. Steve Gooch and Rep. Kevin Tanner, UNG received funding support through the state legislature of $3.5 million for planning and design funds in 2015 and $29.3 million in construction funding this year. The facility is expected to open by 2018.

Additional private funding also is being sought for the new facility. Jeffrey Tarnowski, UNG’s vice president for advancement, said $2.5 million is needed for the athletics areas of the convocation center.

“While we are thrilled and honored to have this incredible facility coming to our campus, we also know that private and corporate support is going to be imperative if we are going to have full use of it for our athletic teams,” Tarnowski said. “We are pleased to have the opportunity to raise $2.5 million through the help of UNG’s dedicated alumni and supporters, whose love, pride and passion for this institution are second to none.”

In addition to supporting the needs of typical universities, this new facility is critical to UNG’s role as one of only six Senior Military Colleges in the United States. UNG’s nearly 800-member Corps of Cadets and more than 150 active students in the Georgia Army National Guard detachment on UNG’s Dahlonega Campus need expanded military training and assembly space.
Additionally, Memorial Hall will be renovated to provide enhanced classroom capability, more restrooms and an elevator.