CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- When the University of Charleston plays host to Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck at its "Starry, Starry Night'' fund-raiser Sept. 19, it hopes to brighten the evening with an announcement.

If things fall in place by that time, UC officials will unveil plans for construction of a new basketball arena - to be built either on the site of Eddie King Gym or on the west edge of campus near Eddie King on the site now occupied by the alumni house.

On the other hand, architectural plans and fund-raising efforts are shrouded in uncertainty, making it impossible to pin down any announcement date or the scheduling of groundbreaking ceremonies.

Still, a dramatic announcement would work well at the Sept. 19 on-campus occasion, where UC alumni and potential donors will mingle beneath a gigantic tent, large enough to accommodate 1,500 people.

"It would be nice if we're in a position to do so, but we don't want to get anybody's hopes up,'' said UC president Ed Welch. "I'm hoping we know more about our direction before we get to Starry Night because ideally it would be great to be able to say then, 'Here's what we're thinking about,' but I recognize also that there's a chance we aren't going to make that. It will depend on what the architects do, how much we know about fund-raising. It continues to be a dream we're pushing as fast as we can, but these are not the best of economic times for people to part with money.''

Garner, a movie actress and Charleston native, and her actor husband Affleck offered to participate in the event to raise money for the proposed gym, which is expected to cost more than $20 million and will replace 61-year-old Eddie King.

Garner also wants to pay tribute to the late Mario and Louise Palumbo, who are graduates of Morris Harvey College (the forerunner of UC) and were longtime supporters of the school. Mario Palumbo, a lawyer and state senator, played basketball at Morris Harvey, and Louise Palumbo, who was fashion director at Stone & Thomas department stores, was a cheerleader at the school.

"One of the reasons Jennifer is coming is because of her relationship with them and [their son] Corey Palumbo,'' Welch said.

The fund-raiser will consist of a reception for Garner and Affleck, dinner, dancing and band music. "I'm sure she'll make some comments to the audience, but beyond that it will be up to her,'' said the UC president.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- When the University of Charleston plays host to Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck at its "Starry, Starry Night'' fund-raiser Sept. 19, it hopes to brighten the evening with an announcement.

If things fall in place by that time, UC officials will unveil plans for construction of a new basketball arena - to be built either on the site of Eddie King Gym or on the west edge of campus near Eddie King on the site now occupied by the alumni house.

On the other hand, architectural plans and fund-raising efforts are shrouded in uncertainty, making it impossible to pin down any announcement date or the scheduling of groundbreaking ceremonies.

Still, a dramatic announcement would work well at the Sept. 19 on-campus occasion, where UC alumni and potential donors will mingle beneath a gigantic tent, large enough to accommodate 1,500 people.

"It would be nice if we're in a position to do so, but we don't want to get anybody's hopes up,'' said UC president Ed Welch. "I'm hoping we know more about our direction before we get to Starry Night because ideally it would be great to be able to say then, 'Here's what we're thinking about,' but I recognize also that there's a chance we aren't going to make that. It will depend on what the architects do, how much we know about fund-raising. It continues to be a dream we're pushing as fast as we can, but these are not the best of economic times for people to part with money.''

Garner, a movie actress and Charleston native, and her actor husband Affleck offered to participate in the event to raise money for the proposed gym, which is expected to cost more than $20 million and will replace 61-year-old Eddie King.

Garner also wants to pay tribute to the late Mario and Louise Palumbo, who are graduates of Morris Harvey College (the forerunner of UC) and were longtime supporters of the school. Mario Palumbo, a lawyer and state senator, played basketball at Morris Harvey, and Louise Palumbo, who was fashion director at Stone & Thomas department stores, was a cheerleader at the school.

"One of the reasons Jennifer is coming is because of her relationship with them and [their son] Corey Palumbo,'' Welch said.

The fund-raiser will consist of a reception for Garner and Affleck, dinner, dancing and band music. "I'm sure she'll make some comments to the audience, but beyond that it will be up to her,'' said the UC president.

At the moment, Welch and UC officials are awaiting architectural designs on the two proposed arenas:

If UC decides to demolish Eddie King, it would retain the 38-year-old annex that contains a swimming pool and upstairs gym.

"We're still waiting for architects to give us a fleshing-out of alternatives for what we're going to do,'' said Welch. "And we're still engaged in some other projects.''

BRIEFLY: Once the new arena is built, UC will dedicate part of it to the Palumbos. ... Work on UC's new softball complex is underway at Watt Powell Annex and is expected to be ready by February or March. ... UC, which bought the Watt Powell Park property in 2004, already has sold part of the land and plans to sell the remainder.

Reach Mike Whiteford at 348-7948 or mikewhitef...@wvgazette.com