Work on Elon University's planned convocation center is underway, with trees recently removed at the site of the facility scheduled to open in fall 2018.

The building will be named the Schar Center, after Dwight and Martha Schar P’16 and P’19, who gave $12 million to the university in 2012. Part of their donation funded the construction of a new building for the School of Communications, Schar Hall.

“The university has had a long-standing need for a large gathering space that would support major events," said Gerald Whittington, senior vice president for the Office of Business, Finance and Technology. Whittington added that the new building would put Elon on par with other athletic facilities in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).

The venue will be built on a 19.5-acre parcel of land near Hunt Softball park, adjacent to the facility’s existing parking lot on North Williamson Avenue. The plot was purchased by the university in August 2015.

“This is a great site because it will take advantage of parking that will service football, basketball and other sports while we're over here," said Director of Athletics Dave Blank. “It's a great plan, and it just so happens that it makes all sports be on the northwest side of campus, other than tennis and golf.”

As soon as the Town of Elon approved the zoning of the area, tree removal began.

“They worked very quickly on clearing the land,” Blank said. “It’s massive, and it definitely gets your attention. It's a different scene when you're driving by on Williamson Avenue."

The Schar Center would play host to Elon’s men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well as the women’s volleyball team and high-profile visiting speakers. Elon’s current arena, Alumni Gym, has been in operation since 1950. With a planned capacity of more than 5,000, the Schar Center would be a considerable upgrade from Alumni Gym’s 1,600, which is currently the seventh smallest venue in NCAA Division I for men’s basketball.

As for what will be done with Alumni Gym following the opening of the Schar Center, Blank suggested that plans are still in formation.

“It will be repurposed somehow,” Blank said. “But those decisions will come soon enough, and there's a lot of discussion within the master plan of the campus with what to do with that space. It will be made public as soon as the decisions are made."