[C]onstruction on the University of Vermont’s new multi-use athletics facility could start as soon as this winter after the university’s Board of Trustees approved a resolution finalizing plans for the facility Saturday.
The $95 million project will include the renovation of the university’s Gutterson Fieldhouse and the construction of a new arena for the men’s and women’s basketball teams, which will also serve as an events space. It will also feature the repurposing of Patrick Gymnasium as a new fitness and wellness center for the entire student body.
UVM needs to acquire the necessary permits before starting construction and will continue fundraising through the construction period. But the university says enough progress has been made on the funding front for the board to be comfortable endorsing starting construction.
Shane Jacobson, president and CEO of the UVM Foundation, said it would be premature to give specifics on how much has been raised as the university is in the final stages of arranging donor gifts. The university will announce those gifts once they are finalized, he said.
UVM is using private gifts and other university sources to pay for for the facility. Athletics Director Jeff Schulman said UVM will use some funding from deferred maintenance budgets and take on up to $75 million in debt for the project.
It is also likely that the university will add a recreation fee for students to help fund the project, but Schulman said it’s too early to estimate how much that might be. UVM does not currently have a recreation fee from students, which is rare in higher education.
The project is set to be completed in stages during the 2020-21 school year. Construction is scheduled in a way that will allow the university’s hockey and basketball teams to continue playing in Gutterson Fieldhouse and Patrick Gym during construction.
The resolution requires the university brings in $30 million in gifts exclusively for athletics or the project by February 1, 2019. Of those $30 million in gifts, at least $15 million must be through signed commitments scheduled to be received as cash by the end of 2021.
The original plan, unveiled in 2017, had an $80 million price tag. Schulman said that while the price tag has increased, the plans have not significantly changed over time.
The additional costs come from an increase in the cost of construction materials since 2017, he said. The renovation of Gutterson Fieldhouse, built in 1963, will also cost more than originally anticipated.
“We’re touching almost every square foot of the facility, and the amount of work that goes into that is very significant and is more than was originally anticipated,” Schulman said.
The athletics director said the renovation of Gutterson Fieldhouse will be significant but that the arena will retain the atmosphere that fans are familiar with. “We’re really excited to preserve it as our home, keep its character, keep its energy,” he said.
The renovation will replace bench seating with individual seats with backs. It will add a new concourse on the south side of the arena to mirror the one on the arena’s north side, which will include new restrooms, more concession options and a new club room. There will also be a new video scoreboard.
The facility will also include a seating and viewing deck that will connect Gutterson Fieldhouse with the new basketball facility.
Capacity for the new basketball facility will be between 3,400 and 3,500, about a 10 percent increase from the current home of the university’s men’s and women’s basketball teams.
But overall, the university made a “very intentional” decision not to increase the capacity of the facilities to avoid having empty seats at games and to maintain the current atmosphere.
“We’re willing to have some games where maybe not everyone can get in in exchange for knowing we’re going to have an energized, packed house night in and night out,” he said.
Patrick Gym will be repurposed as a nearly 100,000 square foot fitness center for students, much bigger than the 15,000 feet they currently have on campus.
“While this is very much a game changer for the athletics department, I really believe when its complete it will be transformational for our entire campus,” Schulman said. “We attract students who care about health and wellness and physical activity, and for many years now we haven’t had facilities that align with that value.”
Jacobson said that donors believe now is the time to get the project done after decades of discussion.
“We have donors who recognize this facility effort might be the last missing piece to catapult our programs into a space where they are competing for championships every single year,” he said.
While many donors are supportive of the athletics department, the fact all students will benefit from the project has been helpful in soliciting donations, he said.
“Now that the project encompasses the entire student body, our donors recognize that an investment in this project is an investment in all the students on campus,” he said.