For now, the only thing the crowds gathered at the Al McGuire Center will be cheering for are the Golden Eagles. Marquette officials said Wednesday as of now, there are no immediate plans to utilize the $31 million dollar athletic facility's arena to host concerts or speakers.

Mike Broeker, assistant athletic director for media relations, said booking concerts or speakers is a consideration but not imminent. He said it is too early to begin planning non-athletic events at the Al.

"The facility is still in the stage of final touches being put on it," Broeker said.

The Rev. Andy Thon, vice president of Student Affairs, was the chair of the Al building committee. He said the committee spent almost three years preparing for construction, from considering building designs to putting together building use policies.

"The most important thing to remember is the Al McGuire Center is primarily an athletic practice facility," Thon said. "Activities related to that purpose take priority."

Broeker said the 4,000-seat arena is the home of the women's basketball and volleyball teams, as well as the practice facility of the men's basketball team.

Thon said requests to use the building go through Jim Nasiopulos, associate athletics director. Nasiopulos could not be reached for comment.

There have been requests to use the building for events other than the building's primary purpose as a Marquette athletics practice facility, Thon said.

For example, there was a request to hold Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletics Association high school basketball tournament games at the center in late February and early March, Thon said. But the request was turned down because Marquette basketball teams were still in season and using the center.

"You want to be a good neighbor, but there are other options in town," Thon said. "We have to be very faithful to our primary purpose."

However, Thon said there is one non-athletic event booked for the McGuire Center — the only one scheduled as of now. In August, the class of 2008 will gather for its freshman convocation at the center.

He said the event is typically held in two locations with a simulcast from one location because of the number of students to all gather in one location. Last year, the class of 2007 was split among the Varsity Theatre and the Weasler Auditorium. The McGuire Center's seating capacity will make it unnecessary to split the class up.

Thon said booking other non-athletic events in the future would depend on two things: availability and the type of event. For example, it would be more difficult to host concerts than speakers because the McGuire Center does not have a stage or lighting, which would have to be brought in.

Friday's celebration will be a good indication of what the McGuire Center can handle in terms of non-athletic events, Thon said. He said in the center's first year, everyone is still learning how to operate.

Thon said this information has been presented to student government. Marquette Student Government President Tim Lefeber said hosting events at the McGuire Center is a topic of discussion and an issue that definitely needs to be approached.

"It's a big issue for me personally," said MUSG Program Vice President Jess Ripp. "It directly impacts everything I want and would like to do."

Ripp said he would love to see the space used for Late Night programming, concerts and big-name speakers or stage acts.

He mentioned the sold-out Guster concert MUSG booked for the Varsity Theatre last fall, and how more students could have bought tickets if it were held in an arena with the capacity of the McGuire Center.

Ripp said he would like to start a committee, including people from the MUSG program board, senators and concerned students, to discuss possible events and then go to the administration to discuss the feasibility of hosting entertainment-type events at the McGuire Center.