Major SC arena to undergo $282 million renovation. Here’s where, what changes to expect
The Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville will undergo a $282 million renovation, featuring improved entrances, the addition of a two-story terrace and an upgrade to the exterior.
Located on Beattie Place at the entrance to downtown, the work was approved by the City’s Design Review Board and will also include upgraded access for trucks delivering items for shows and concessions, new premium seating and community gathering spaces.
The proposal calls for a 6,500- to 7,000-seat amphitheater on the 12-acre site that will be submitted for review to the board in August.
The size of the amphitheater falls between the 1,200 seats at the Pavilion at the Peace Center about a mile away in the heart of downtown along the Reedy River and the CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park in Simpsonville with seating for 14,000.
The amphitheater, to be built on what is now a parking lot, would create 545 permanent jobs, generate $15 million annually in compensation and have an estimated $63 million each year in economic impact, the Arena District said in a news release.
“This is our opportunity to build on the legacy of those who came before us - from the families of Little Texas to the visionaries who constructed Memorial Auditorium and the business and community leaders who created this arena 25 years ago,” Neetu Patel, chairman of the Greenville Arena District Board, said in a news conference announcing the expansion plans last year. “The master plan we are presenting today is about updating a building and protecting a vital community asset for the next 25 years and beyond.”
The arena will remain open during the two-year construction and as such much of the building’s ground floor will remain as is, including concessions, restrooms, and operational spaces.
City planners recommended the plan to the board but asked for designs to improve the look of blank walls and outside public art, vegetation, particularly along Beattie Place.
The arena covers most of the property bounded by North Academy Street, Beattie Place, and North Church Street.
LS3P Architects of Charleston and Gensler of San Francisco, which has 57 offices around the world including Atlanta, developed the plan based on what they called iconic regional features — trees, the Reedy River, and waterfalls.
Trees were the inspiration for the building’s new structural framework, epitomized in the proposed ‘V’ columns outside. The river, a “sense of movement and connection with the landscape.”
And the waterfall inspired the terraced design.
“Through these design elements, the project aspires to weave the spirit of the Upstate into every architectural gesture, creating a space that feels inherently rooted in its surroundings,” the companies said in their application.
“When the full site is developed, we would have year-round programming, with the amphitheater. So, I think the campus, when looked at holistically, will create significant new opportunities for events and gatherings, whether they’re very small, intimate or very large,” Beth Paul, general manager of Bon Secours Wellness Arena, told WYFF.
The Greenville Arena District was established as a special purpose district by the General Assembly in 1940 and oversaw Greenville Memorial Auditorium, which opened in 1958, had 7,500 seats, and was torn down in 1997 to make way for the arena, which has 15,500 seats and opened in 1998.
Bon Secours has 130 ticketed events annually, including the Southeastern Conference Women’s Basketball tournament, this year for the eighth time. The contract was extended for three more years.
Performers who have appeared at the arena include Taylor Swift, Prince, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Pearl Jam, and The Eagles.
Bon Secours, known as The Well, also hosts 75 to 100 community and non-profit events and provides shelter during natural disasters.
The Arena District estimates the economic impact of The Well at $2 billion since it opened.