Photos by David Welch, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 3.00
Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center 284 Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Way Statesboro, GA 30458
Year Opened: 2024
Capacity: 5,500
Whose House? Our House!
The 2024-25 season was a transitional one for Georgia Southern Eagles basketball. On December 7, 2024 the Eagles played their final game in the 55-year-old Hanner Fieldhouse, before moving across campus to the newly completed Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center, which has quickly earned the moniker, “The Hill”.
The Georgia Southern men’s team began writing its history at The Hill on December 17th with an 87-81 victory over the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs. The arena became the third home of Georgia Southern basketball since the program’s founding in 1926, following Anderson Hall and Hanner Fieldhouse.
Since joining NCAA’s Division 1 in 1971, Georgia Southern men’s basketball has played in multiple conferences, including the Atlantic Sun (previously the TransAmerica Athletic Conference), Southern, and Big South. The school has been members of the Sun Belt Conference since the football program made the jump to college football’s highest level.
Food & Beverage 2
Hill Convocation Center’s concessions do not offer a lot in terms of the diversity of options. Hot dogs, pretzels, and nachos with cheese sauce make up the bulk of the menu, with snackables such as popcorn, peanuts, chips, and candy also available.
Soft drinks are from the Coca-Cola line of beverages. Refillable cups are self-serve, so it is nice to not have to wait in line just for a refill, not to mention the disappointment of a cup full of ice and little beverage. Georgia Southern also offers a deep roster of alcoholic beverages with NUTRL hard seltzers, Cutwater canned mixed drinks, and Creature Comfort’s Tropicalia, which is often ranked as one of Georgia’s top craft beers. Also offered is the Georgia Southern-branded “Hail Southern” from Fire Maker Brewing.
A grab-and-go station is tucked into the corner of one of the front halls – beyond snacks, this stand also pours draft Craft Cocktails Blue and Gold margaritas and Blue Splash draft cocktails.
Atmosphere 3
The exterior of Hill Convocation Center has the resemblance of an eagle with its wings extended, soaring through the air. The top of the arena is also surrounded with translucent panels which allow natural light in; this gives the whole arena an airy, bright feel to it that highlights the school color-themed blue seats and white finish.
Permanent seating creates a horseshoe from the far end baseline, which is fronted by three rows of floor-level seating and a row of court side seats. Retractable bleachers fill out the home end of the floor. In addition, each corner of the concourse also has long drink rails that allow spectators to stand and enjoy the game.
A rectangular video board is mounted on the far end wall, running a video feed of the game along with player point and foul totals, as well as game time and team fouls. A small scoreboard with just game time and score hangs over the façade at the entry end of the arena.
For the most part, timeouts at Hill Convocation Center find a nice balance between the use of popular music and the school’s pep band to hold the attention of fans, while halftime is used for on-court promotions with fans, to help fill the downtime.
Neighborhood 3
Hill Convocational Center is just off the southern edge of Georgia Southern’s campus, nearly directly across the highway from Paulson Stadium, home of Eagles football. Highway 31, which runs in front of the arena, also has a selection of eateries and shopping plazas. The closest shopping development, University Station, has options that include Blaze Pizza and Wayback Burgers, amongst several shops, while the neighboring Eagles Corner shopping center houses a Publix supermarket, Crumbl Cookies, and Eggs Up Grill, which offers a breakfast and lunch menu. Eagles Corner is directly across the way from Tormenta Stadium, where South Georgia Tormenta FC of USL One plays – note that the start of Tormenta’s season overlaps with the end of the Eagles basketball schedule.
If looking to fill time before a game, nearby is The Clubhouse; this family entertainment center includes bowling lanes, laser tag, and arcade games among their indoor activities, as well as miniature golf and go-carts outside.
For a bit more of a local taste of Statesboro, “The Blue Mile” that runs along the western side of campus into downtown includes the popular Dolan’s Bar-B-Que, along with a handful of locally owned shops and restaurants.
The area where Hill Convocation Center was built is still a bit of a work in progress, but has seen a tremendous amount of growth and will continue to develop in the coming years.
Fans 3
The move from Hanner Fieldhouse to The Hill does not seem to have had a major impact on overall attendance – conference attendance numbers this year have been comparable to last year, with approximately just over 2,000 fans per game.
Given Statesboro’s milder winter climate, Georgia Southern baseball is frequently a host for early season series, which can certainly conflict with the interest of the student body and local community in Eagles basketball, come February.
Despite somewhat down numbers overall, fans in attendance here are passionate about the success of their Eagles on the hardwood.
Access 3
Statesboro certainly is not the easiest place to get to, located approximately an hour west of the Georgia port city of Savannah and two hours from central Georgia’s Macon, along Interstate 16. Statesboro does break up the monotonous farmland between the two cities. Georgia Southern’s campus is roughly 10 miles off the interstate.
The front entry point to Hill Convocation Center takes fans directly into the concourse that completely encircles the seating area. This is always a nice feature to have, since it allows fans to keep in touch with the game even during a trip to the restroom or concession stand. Televisions mounted on the walls also keep those out of their seats connected to the game.
Currently there is just one way in and out of the parcel of land The Hill is located on. This can create a bit of a backup in exiting after the game, but local officers are on hand to help the process of getting back onto the highways run as smoothly as possible.
Return on Investment 3
Tickets start at a face value of $15 before a $2 “Competitive Excellence Fee” is added, along with a $3 service fee, to the order. These fees only apply to the order and not for each ticket purchased. Prices do receive a $5 bump on game days.
Free parking is available both in the grass lots beyond the donor lots and along the roads of the still developing parcel of land where the convocation center is located.
Concession prices seem comparable to other sports venues at similar levels; as expected there is a premium markup on alcohol.
Extras 4
Honored numbers from Georgia Southern’s basketball program hang from the wall at the far end of the arena.
The wall on the eastern side of the concourse is home to the Georgia Southern Athletic Hall of Fame; this display lists the names of all inducted members, and features the most recent inductees on each side.
As with most of Georgia Southern’s sporting events, Eagles mascot Gus is hard at work throughout the game interacting with fans and cheering on the Eagles.
In an ode to the fans and the university, following the game the team joins the spirit squad, and remaining fans pay their respects by singing the school’s alma mater, as played by the pep band.
Final Thoughts
When new facilities open, it often means the closing of a beloved venue, as is the case here at Georgia Southern. The move from Hanner Fieldhouse to Hill Convocation Center feels bittersweet – while Hanner’s wooden seats, narrow concourses, and less-than-ideal vantage points posed challenges, they were all part of its unique charm. What Hanner lacked in comfort, it more than made up for in atmosphere, creating an energy that may be hard to replicate in a larger arena. After all, 2,000 fans packed into a 3,000-seat gym feels much different than the same number spread across a venue nearly twice the size.
Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center is a beautiful facility that many teams would be lucky to call home. Sometimes though, it just takes a bit of time to make a new home feel lived in, and feel like home.
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