UConn Ready to Hoop It Up Under 'New' Gampel Roof

STORRS, CT — After 60,000 screws, 30,000-plus hours of work, and 2,083 ceiling tiles, the new and improved Gampel Pavilion roof is ready for the 2017-18 basketball season season.

That was the word from University of Connecticut officials on Wednesday.

The roof has been leaky and ceiling liners peeling for some time. Materials to fix the problems began arriving in the spring and prep work for the project started right after commencement in May.

The project was targeted for completion at the end of October – in time for the start of basketball games, UConn officials said. Going by that timetable, it is done early.

That prep work has included protection covering for the scoreboards, removal of the national championship banners and covering the various heating and cooling system vents, officials said.

The women's volleyball squad is playing this season in the Hugh Greer Field House.

UConn produced a time-lapse video on the project:

Gampel Pavilion opened in 1990 and the construction of the roof was innovative for its time, including a network of metal clad panels with a fabric-wrapped insulated cover on the interior.

The building did not age well, however and the fabric wrap has been ripping and flaking and the sealant sealant on the exterior of the dome has started to wear-off.

A budget of $10 million for the repair work was approved by the UConn Board of Trustees on Jan. 25.

The panels were brought down six at a time in hexagons and each panel was rewrapped with new fabric and insulation.

The new fabric on the panels is designed to make Gampel Pavilion much brighter for games, officials said.

The arena also has a new LED lighting system.

Photo and Video Credit: UConn