AUSTIN – The University of Texas Board of Regents is expected to vote on the demolition of the Frank Erwin Center, the 1977 multi-purpose venue that was replaced by the Moody Center.
The six-story, 500,000-square-foot arena was home to the men’s and women’s basketball teams until the $375 million Moody Center became the city’s premier venue.
Now, regents will decide on tearing down the old building — for a price tag of $25 million — to make space for the expansion of the Dell Medical School. The project also calls for the demolition of the Denton A. Cooley Pavilion, a basketball training facility built in 2003.
The site of the project is located at the southeast end of UT Austin’s campus. It is between Interstate 35 to the east, Red River Street to the west, Dell Medical School Health Learning Building to the south, and the Little Campus to the north.
Regents in the Facilities Planning and Construction Committee are expected to discuss the topic in a meeting on Wednesday, and the board is scheduled to vote on the matter on Thursday.
If approved, the sites will be vacated by mid-2023.
“The debris will be sorted, and steel will be recycled and hauled off site to appropriate facilities,” an agenda states. “All utilities will be cut and capped at the limits of construction, and all utilities within the limits of demolition will be removed.”
Construction would start this summer and be completed by October 2024 if approved. UT System documents state the money will come from the Available University Fund.
The Frank Erwin Center, located at 1701 Red River St., was last used in April 2022, the same month when the Moody Center opened.
The Moody Center is now home to Longhorns basketball and to concerts from top entertainers, like Harry Styles, Drake, Pearl Jam and Madonna. The San Antonio Spurs will also play home games there for the next two seasons.
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