Weather delays and sequencing issues are delaying the opening of the Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena.

Chancellor Victor Boschini said he’s been told the new basketball arena will be completed by Dec. 14. Boschini added the grand opening is tentatively scheduled for 2 p.m. Dec. 15.

Boschini said commencement is scheduled to be held in the new arena on Dec. 19. However, the Fort Worth Convention Center’s calendar has an event titled “Texas Christian University December Graduation” scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 19.

The TCU men’s basketball team will be playing its home games at the Wilkerson-Greines Athletic Center until the new arena opens, said Ross Bailey, the associate athletics director of facilities and operations. The men’s team played at Wilkerson-Greines last season and has six home games scheduled before Dec. 15.

He added that the women’s basketball team will play its first eight home games at the TCU Recreation Center.

Ross Bailey, TCU’s associate director of athletics, said the completion date became unknown in June because of weather.

The men’s and women’s basketball teams have home games scheduled for Dec. 20, the day after fall graduation. The men are scheduled to play at 1 p.m. and the women at 3:30 p.m.

Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Chris Del Conte confirmed that fall graduation and the basketball double-header are expected to be held in Schollmaier Arena.

Construction of Schollmaier Arena was expected to be finished in October, but heavy rains have been a cause for concern since early this summer. 

“We sincerely apologize for the delay to our fans of both programs as well as the many donors who have turned our dream of a new arena into a reality,” Del Conte added in a media release today.

“We are more confident than ever that we will have the finest facility in the Big 12,” Del Conte said. “We want to make sure we do this right.”