Commencing a New Era
Posted on June 9, 2025 by Alumni
In July 1964, just a month after the University of South Alabama began holding its first classes on its new campus in west Mobile, the Mobile Municipal Auditorium opened downtown. It immediately became the hub for Mardi Gras parties as well as a venue for sports, concerts and other events — including South’s first Commencements.
The complex, known since 1988 as the Mobile Civic Center, featured a theater, an exposition hall and a domed arena. Six decades later, it took its final bow, demolished to make way for a new arena.
“I think this is going to fit in nicely with our attractions and amenities to really support leisure travel and take downtown Mobile to the next level,” says Fred Rendfrey, president and CEO of the Downtown Mobile Alliance. More tourism would, among other things, increase internship and job opportunities for South hospitality and tourism management students.
The old arena could no longer host major touring attractions and had become increasingly costly to maintain. Renovation wasn’t feasible. And South had long abandoned the venue in place of the on-campus Mitchell Center.
Many 20th-century South alumni hold fond memories of the Civic Center, and not just because of concerts. Commencements took place there from the University’s first, in spring 1967, through fall 1998 — with the exception of two years in the late 1980s when they were held in the Health, Kinesiology and Sport building.
The Jaguars played men’s basketball at the arena from the team’s inaugural 1968-69 season through 1998-99 (with some games at the Jag Gym starting in 1976-77). The Mitchell Center has hosted Commencement since May 1999 and men’s basketball since 1999-2000.
Birmingham-based BL Harbert International is building the new downtown arena, as well as the new Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine building on South’s campus. Mobile-based Volkert is managing the arena project.
The Civic Center complex cost $10 million to build in 1964 — about $100 million in today’s dollars. The new arena has a $237 million construction budget. Demolition and other work at the site will bring the total cost to about $300 million.
EARLY UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA Commencements were held in the Civic Center downtown.
The ceremonies were eventually moved to campus at the USA Mitchell Center.
Like the old Civic Center, the new arena was planned with Mardi Gras in mind. Ballrooms around the main arena (maximum seating capacity 10,275) will be able to handle more than 7,300 revelers at once. An outdoor balcony will provide views of parades. The new facility is scheduled to open in January 2027; Mardi Gras that year will be Feb. 9.
The building’s design reflects Mobile’s architectural heritage. Arches on all four sides will recall the wrought iron that decorates so many downtown buildings. (For low maintenance, they will be anodized aluminum.)
The Civic Center’s most beloved interior decorations — two vibrantly colorful mosaic murals, “Mardi Gras” and “Circus,” by Conrad Albrizio — will reappear in the new arena. They have been carefully preserved and stored in the shell of the old exhibition hall. Demolition of the hall will finish once the murals have been installed in their new home.
The master plan for the site envisions, eventually, a Broadway-style theater, a hotel, retail and residential development, and spaces for outdoor events. A new parking garage has already gone up.
Mayor Sandy Stimpson expects a big upswing in events. The arena manager, Denver-based Oak View Group, will have a financial incentive to fill the calendar with as many enticements as possible — maybe including minor league hockey and arena football.
“I think you’ll see, compared to what we’ve seen in the past, the schedule will be far superior,” Stimpson says. “And it won’t be just weekends. It’ll be weekdays too. They’ll keep it hopping.”