College Park Center's grand opening will take place Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012, with a free basketball double-header taking center stage.

The Feb. 1 grand opening will be the public's first chance to get a look inside UT Arlington's new College Park Center, a state-of-the-art facility with two-tier seating, two practice courts, and an academic center which is located at 601 S. Pecan Street.

UT Arlington men's and women's teams will be facing off against UT-San Antonio squads. Both games are free to the public, but tickets have sold out.

College Park Center will serve as a signature event facility in Arlington, seating up to 7,000 people for traditional court-based athletic games. The center will also host a variety of events from high-profile entertainment to conferences and high school graduations. Grammy-nominated musical artist Drake is lined up to perform March 2.

The multipurpose facility is part of the 20-acre College Park District that will include residential and retail development, a 4.62-acre green space, and a 1,800-vehicle parking garage.

"College Park Center is going to be a tremendous addition to Arlington and further advance our priority of creating a vibrant downtown," said Trey Yelverton, deputy city manager.

The center is expected to bring extra foot traffic to downtown's restaurants and other businesses. "It will do for downtown what Cowboys Stadium does for the city as a whole, just on a smaller scale," Yelverton said.

Tom Cravens, a longtime advocate of building an event facility in downtown, believes College Park Center will help "give everyone a sense of place."

"College Park will be a place for the city to celebrate itself, along with the Levitt Pavilion," said Cravens. "Every city needs a heart, and this will be the heart of the city."

For more information about College Park Center, visit www.utacollegepark.com.

College Park Center Parking & Direction information