John Paul Jones Arena - Memorable Events

Memorable Events

The University of Virginia opened the John Paul Jones Arena on November 12, 2006 with a pair of victories. The Virginia women's basketball team defeated Old Dominion University 92–72 in the afternoon. Later that evening in front of a capacity crowd of 15,219, the Virginia men's basketball team defeated #10 ranked Arizona 93–90, rallying from a 19-point first-half deficit. Both games included elaborate pre-game festivities that featured a fireworks display and the Cavalier mascot rappelling from the rafters. Michael Buffer was introduced to announce the Virginia starting lineup prior to the men's game.

On February 1, 2007, the Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team defeated the #8 Duke Blue Devils 68–66 in overtime, marking their first win over Duke since February 2002. The Cavaliers trailed by eight points with 3:42 left in regulation but their defense held Duke without a field goal for the final 8:42 of the game, including all of overtime. With 24.8 seconds left in regulation, a Sean Singletary 15-footer forced the extra period; Singletary also hit the game-winning basket with one hand while falling backward with one second left in overtime. The win marked Virginia's fifth ACC victory in a row and ended Duke's own five-game winning streak.

On March 1, 2007, the men's basketball team defeated Virginia Tech 69–56, clinching a share of first place in the final ACC regular season standings for the 2006–2007 season. The victory marked the school-record 16th home win of the season, and the Cavaliers finished 16–1 for the season in their new arena. Furthermore, Virginia went an undefeated 8–0 in league games at home for the first time since the Hoos went 7–0 at home in 1982. Also at this game, the fans in attendance said goodbye to two fourth-year players, J. R. Reynolds and Jason Cain, both of whom had contributed to the Virginia basketball program.

On October 17, 2009, Metallica played their "World Magnetic" tour at the arena, supported by Lamb of God and Gojira. The arena became the site of the disappearance of 20-year-old Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington from the concert. She mysteriously left the arena in search of a restroom, despite 18 female restrooms being provided inside the secured arena. A "no return on exit" policy was enforced. Harrington’s skeletonized body was found at Anchorage Farm, Albemarle County on January 26, 2010. The person(s) responsible remain at large.

On December 5, 2009 Phish played the final show of their 2009 Fall Tour at the arena. At the beginning of a first set "Ya Mar", an erratic fan proceeded to run on stage fully naked. He ran up and hugged guitarist Trey Anastasio and kissed him on the cheek. He made three laps around the stage before finally being run down by security. Anastasio proceeded by saying, "Let's hear it for the naked guy, pick him up, that took a lot of balls." Later on, the lyrics of "Ya Mar" stated "he was a naked pa", and "Run like an Antelope" was changed to "Run like a Naked Guy, out of control". The incident has since been the source of many Phish-related jokes.

On September 8, 2010 Lady Gaga played the arena on the second North American leg of her The Monster Ball Tour. It was one of Lady Gaga's first times performing in Virginia.

In September 2010, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) will bring their Built Ford Tough Series tour to JPJ Arena; prior to this, the arena had hosted an event on the PBR's Enterprise Tour (which was one of the PBR's minor league tours that was eventually combined with the other minor league tours to create the Touring Pro Division in 2010).