Dantzler Arena opens Monday

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College will open its newest sports venue with a busy first-day schedule.

A college basketball tripleheader is on tap Monday at Dantzler Arena on the Perkinston Campus. It tips off at 2 p.m. when the Gulf Coast women open their Bulldog Thanksgiving Classic against East Mississippi (1-2).

Chattahoochee Valley (4-0) will play Northeast Mississippi (2-2) in the second game of the Classic at 4 p.m., and the Gulf Coast men (1-1) close out a long day when the Bulldogs play Royal Ambassadors in a game scheduled for 6 p.m.

Gulf Coast games will be broadcast at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch. Northeast Mississippi will stream its games at https://nemcctv.com/goldchannel/. 

The Thanksgiving Classic concludes Tuesday when Northeast plays East Mississippi at 1 p.m. The Bulldogs play Chattahoochee Valley at 3 p.m.

Dantzler Arena is located at the corner of Perkinston Boulevard and Wire Road, across the street from A.L. May Memorial Stadium and next to the MGCCC Tennis Complex. The teams started moving into the new venue Friday after the men's team closed out the Weathers-Wentzell Center with a big victory over Baton Rouge on Thursday night.

The new arena, which seats 1,450, features four video boards, with two on the walls and two on the front of scorers' tables. There is a center-hung, four-sided scoreboard and integrated audio/visual and streaming systems. There's a hospitality suite, team meeting room and multiple offices in addition to the ones for the head coaches and assistants.

A ribbon-cutting and dedication for the arena is scheduled for Feb. 15.

For more information on MGCCC's 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.