Today’s student athletes, fans, and community members are demanding more from their on-campus sports venues. Stand-alone, single-use facilities are being replaced by multi-use arenas and entertainment districts. At the same time, universities are embracing opportunities to partner with cities to create innovation districts. These vibrant, mixed-use developments attract business and talent and boost the local economy through a mix of higher education, housing, live music, medicine, retail, and sports.

Gensler partnered with Oak View Group, CAA ICON, Live Nation, and C3 to create a new 15,000-seat basketball arena for the University of Texas that also acts as an anchor for a new mixed-use innovation district that includes the school’s medical campus. The arena and its adjacent plaza can adapt and scale to different events, from a more intimate live show for 5,000 people to a game or concert for more than 15,000 fans.

Moody Center helps improve the urban fabric of central Austin by establishing a new relationship between the University of Texas and the city at large. Designed to be more than just a game-day venue, the facility engages students, athletes, and the community as an emblem of the type of innovation and creativity for which the city and university want to be known. The venue has become a cultural and community anchor for a larger innovation district that will increase revenue opportunities and attract students and talent for years to come.