University of Mississippi – known as “Ole Miss” – will officially open its new 9,500-capacity indoor arena today (7 January) when its Rebels basketball team faces off against Alabama in an NCAA Division 1 game.

Designed by global architects AECOM, the US$97m (€89m, £67m) Pavilion at Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi, will become the region’s premiere multi-purpose venue – capable of hosting a range of sports as well as concerts, special events and academic activities.

The pavilion is the centerpiece of the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation’s ‘Forward Together’ capital campaign, which will see US$200m (€184m, £137m) invested in new sports facilities.

Situated on campus next to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium – which is currently undergoing an AECOM-designed expansion and renovation – The Pavilion anchors an updated sports complex near The Grove, the university’s central open space.

According to AECOM, the proximity of the facilities is intended to build synergy between football and arena operations and boost the gameday experience for fans.

Jon Niemuth, director of sports for AECOM, said: “With the Forward Together campaign, Ole Miss has advanced big-picture, fiscally sound, programmatic-thinking about college athletics, not just in the conference but in the nation.

“We’re honored to have partnered with them and are thrilled to see The Pavilion ready for action.”

Ole Miss launched the Forward Together campaign in 2011 in partnership with AECOM. So far more than US$150m has been invested in new facilities around the campus.