Joan Perry Brock Center

Official Joan Perry Brock Center Website • Visitors Guide • Parking Information • Drone Tour of Arena from Mooney Visuals

Hundreds of Longwood students, staff, alumni and community members broke into applause as the ribbon was cut and the doors officially opened to a highly anticipated new building at Longwood University – the Joan Perry Brock Center – on Aug. 25, 2024.

As the crowd made their way inside to catch the first glimpse of the space, already affectionately nicknamed the “JPB,” the energy began to feel like a late-season Big South Conference game: positively electric.

“This is a grand, spectacular arena,” said Farmville Mayor Brian Vincent, a longtime season-ticket holder who was eyeing seats behind the team benches for his family. “The Joan Perry Brock Center will certainly be an amazing addition to our town and university.”

The Joan Perry Brock Center is home to Longwood basketball and serves as a central community gathering spot for concerts, performance arts events and Longwood traditions. Basketball games will seat more than 3,000 fans, while concerts and other performances can accommodate more than 4,000.

In his opening remarks before the ribbon was cut, President W. Taylor Reveley IV said the arena is not only a culmination for the university, but also for Farmville, Prince Edward and the Southside region. He specifically addressed the students gathered on Brock Commons for the ceremony, noting it will be a game changer for campus life.

“It is your energy that is going to catalyze this place. You are going to cherish it, I can promise you that,” Reveley said. “So many of you are seeing the inside for the very first time and you're going to be really, really impressed. As Joan says, this is going to be the heartbeat of campus.”

Located in the center of campus, along Brock Commons, the building’s design echoes the classical architecture of the historic core of campus, while the interior is reminiscent of classic college basketball arenas like Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium and Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse. The best seats in the house – on the floor directly behind the Lancer bench – are reserved for the most passionate student fans.

Brock said that the arena’s location, as well as events that will be held in there like The GAME, where students receive their traditional scarves during a pep rally and convocation, will build bonds that last for decades.

Plans for the Joan Perry Brock Center were first announced to the Longwood community in 2019 in conjunction with the largest gift in the university’s 180-year history, a $15 million commitment from Brock, a philanthropist.

With its opening, the Joan Perry Brock Center becomes one of the premier mid-major arenas in the mid-Atlantic region. Its wraparound seating, four loge boxes, and hospitality areas are easily accessed by wide concourses that encircle the bowl. Members of the Lancer Lunatics, the student fan group, will enjoy priority seating directly behind the team bench. Others will practice their best distraction techniques as opponents attempt foul shots at the west basket.