DAHLONEGA – A "topping out" ceremony was held Tuesday for the University of North Georgia's new Convocation Center.  Following a short ceremony, Juneau Construction Company hoisted the final piece of steel for the 103,000-square-foot complex to the maximum height of the facility.
 
The Convocation Center is schedule to open in early 2018 and will serve multiple uses, including academic courses, physical training activities, and university events such as commencement ceremonies, athletic events and meetings. The center also will house faculty offices, labs, classrooms and multiuse areas. It is being built in the southwest zone of the Dahlonega campus off Morrison Moore Parkway.
 
"We are really excited about the new convocation center for UNG, as it will be a transformational facility for UNG," Mac McConnell, UNG's senior vice president for business and finance, said. "With a seating capacity of up to 3,600, the new, multifunction building will fill the needs of our growing institution much better than the 56-year-old Memorial Hall. It also will be easily accessed from the Morrison Moore Parkway to serve the north Georgia region."
 
UNG's Memorial Hall was constructed in 1960 with a fixed-seating capacity of 1,049. Enrollment at then-North Georgia College was only 794 students. Today, UNG serves a growing enrollment of more than 17,000 students across five campuses and is one of the state's largest public universities. Enrollment on the Dahlonega Campus alone has increased to more than 7,000 students.
 
Memorial Hall currently supports more than 500 separate events and activities each year, to include academic courses, student activities, military training and assemblies, special events, and NCAA Division II athletic programs.
 
The 38,600-square-foot concourse level, where the facility entry will be located, surrounds and overlooks the event area, providing views of the activity taking place below. The concourse level also will include several of the facility's classrooms and multipurpose areas.
 
From the concourse level, guests to the facility go down into the nearly 57,000-square-foot event level of the convocation center, which will include both fixed and collapsible seating in the main event area and several classrooms, labs and dressing rooms.
 
A third, lower level of the facility includes a little less than 7,000 square feet of faculty offices and storage space. On the exterior, plans include both entry and student plazas and landscaping and walkways to connect the facility to the existing UNG Alumni House, located nearby, and parking areas.
 
Additionally, Memorial Hall is being renovated to provide enhanced classroom capability, more restrooms, an updated lobby and an elevator.