Last night, even though the Bryce Jordan Center was set up for basketball and its seats were empty, the arena was buzzing with excitement about what will take place there in just under three months.

About 3,000 committee members for Penn State's Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon were given behind-the-scenes tours of the center last night to prepare them for Thon weekend, which begins Feb. 16.

Captains from Thon's various committees led members around the center in groups of about 30 for half-hour tours, tailored to inform them of their responsibilities for the weekend.

"The point of getting them in is to get them acclimated to the area," Megan Kendrick, Thon's public relations overall, said of the committee members.

Even though committee members were touring the facility for the first time last night, captains have been preparing for the event in the center since they were chosen in October.

"This is a new Thon for everyone," Mike Funk, Thon's overall chairman, said. "The biggest thing is to get everyone in the facility multiple times, so they can ask questions and figure out where they need to be."

Kendrick said that one of the advantages of this year's move to the more spacious BJC was that it allows all the weekend's events to be consolidated into only two buildings -- the BJC and the Intramural Building. Last year, she said, events were scattered among five different buildings, which was inconvenient for some attendees.

Funk highlighted some of the features of the new venue, saying that more areas will be designated for use by Thon families and their children.

The event's main stage will be set at the west end of the BJC, with two large video screens behind it. Press boxes around the arena will be used to accommodate Penn State administrators, Four Diamonds Fund staff, representatives from the Hershey Medical Center and some donors.

The store for attendees to purchase Thon merchandise will be located on the main concourse, directly across from the "pass tables," where members of organizations can register for a pass to go out on the floor to visit dancers.

Funk emphasized the facility's ability to hold more people than Rec Hall -- a jump from 5,000 to 15,000.

The man responsible for overseeing the cleanliness of all those seats, Bill O'Tormey, Thon's operations overall chairman, seemed unfazed by the task ahead of him and his crew. He was an operations captain of last year's Thon, and has been involved in the event since he was a freshman.

"We're planning in ways we've never really planned before, going into more detail," O'Tormey said.