Rap artist B.o.B will pay Ohio Athletics for space — a “green” room, so to speak — to prepare for his Convocation Center concert.
Bobby Ray Simmons Jr., who goes by the stage name B.o.B, will rent three Bobcat locker rooms to use before and after his Friday concert at The Convo.
He will use the soccer and softball locker rooms as well as the golf lounge. In exchange for the space, the rapper will give $900 to Ohio Athletics’ general revenue account.
“The rooms that were chosen were based largely on their proximity to the building’s exits,” said Jason Corriher, assistant athletic director for Media Relations, in a statement.
All varsity athletic teams have locker rooms in Peden Stadium or The Convo except for swimming and diving, which operates in the Aquatic Center.
The teams will have to remove personal items from the rooms in order to accommodate B.o.B. Soccer coach Stacy Strauss said relocating team and personal equipment is standard procedure for a variety of circumstances.
“The team doesn’t have to do anything other than secure their belongings, which they frequently have to do throughout the year,” she said, adding that the monetary exchange is also typical in similar situations.
“That’s pretty standard when the university rents out space. Whether it’s (University Program Council), whether they be athletic facilities, there’s typically a monetary exchange.”
Located at the Shafer Street end of The Convo, the softball and soccer locker rooms are connected by a shared bathroom. The golf lounge is located directly across a hallway from the softball locker room, barely off the court from where visiting basketball teams sit during games.
The soccer team has cleaned its locker room, and the softball team will vacate its space by Thursday. The players must stay out of the locker rooms through Sunday.
Dave Rave and Far East Movement will open for B.o.B. The concert will be the first to be held in The Convo in seven years.
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