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Georgia Southern unveils inside of Hill Convocation Center - watch video
Arena will host first sporting event Thursday night when the Eagles play Jacksonville in women's basketball
Hill Center
The main arena of the new Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center will seat 5,500 for Georgia Southern basketball games.. - photo by JIM HEALY/staff

Hill Convocation Center Entrance View Video

The Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center will be officially opened during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday at 3 p.m. Here is a view of the Center from the main entrance of the arena.
By: JIM HEALY/staff

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Georgia Southern will hold a ribbon-cutting celebration for the opening of the university’s Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center on Wednesday, but local media were offered a sneak preview of the new arena Tuesday.

The 95,000-square-foot facility off the intersection of Lanier Drive and Veterans Memorial Parkway – the Highway 301 bypass – will serve as a hub for student, athletic and community events in Statesboro. 

Hill Floor
The Georgia Southern athletic logo is front and center on the floor of the new Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center. - photo by JIM HEALY/staff

In fact, after Wednesday’s opening, the Georgia Southern women’s basketball team will play the first game inside the Hill Center when they face Jacksonville University at 6 p.m. Thursday. The men get their first chance at 7 p.m. Saturday against North Florida. 

The public is invited to Wednesday's 3 p.m. ribbon cutting and guided tours of Convocation Center will be offered to the public from 1:45 to 2:30 p.m., prior to the ceremony. Attendees of the ribbon-cutting will need to park at Paulson Stadium and take a shuttle to the ceremony.

The center is named in honor of the late Senator Jack Hill and his wife of 46 years, Ruth Ann Hill. Both are Georgia Southern graduates. Hill was the longest-tenured Georgia senator when he died in April 2020. An lifelong educator, Ruth Ann Hill was a triple Eagle, earning degrees from Georgia Southern in 1973, 1990 and 1991.

Hill Center
The Center is named in honor of the late Senator Jack Hill and his wife of 46 years, Ruth Ann Hill. Both are Georgia Southern graduates. The wall shown above will show a history of the late state senator and his family and offer information about his career. - photo by Jim Healy/Herald staff

The arena inside the two-story complex will have a basketball seating capacity of more than 5,500, a 50% increase over Hanner Fieldhouse’s 3,100 seats. Built in a horseshoe-like bowl, all the seats offer an excellent view of the court.

The Center also provides approximately 8,000 square feet of new space for a Waters College of Health Professions sports psychology lab, a satellite research lab, faculty offices, a conference room and classrooms.

Hill Center
The new women's locker room inside the Hill Convocation Center is shown above. - photo by JIM HEALY/staff

Hill Center
Half of the weight training area inside the new Hill Convocation Center is shown above. - photo by JIM HEALY/staff

Hill Convocation Center Floor View Video

The Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center will be officially opened during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday at 3 p.m. Here is a view of the Center from the floor of the arena.
By: JIM HEALY/staff

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

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