Link: What our $35 million practice facility could look like
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Fantastic renderings and a beautiful project. While I don't agree with your thesis that a practice facility, however spectacular, will ensure on-court success, I am very excited by this idea.
All the University needs to do now is discover that there are unicorns pooping gold in the Downer Woods and this is a go.
By the way, it wasn't that long ago that MU built the Al McGuire center for about $31 million -- and it can seat about 4,000 for basketball. That's where the MU women play, in fact. Heaven help us if $35 million wouldn't at least get us an appropriate venue for women's basketball and volleyball, allowing us to take spectator sports out of the Klotsche entirely.
It took MU to make it to the Final Four, to get that final push for the money to build the Al.
Let me be blunt about this. We could win the national championship and there's still no way we are coming up with $35 million in donations to build a practice facility.
It would be incredible, I just don't see the administration getting behind it.
I like the idea of building it into the hill with the green space on the roof. Not too bad for the neighbors eyes and a cool use of the space, and all you lose in the end is a bit of a frolf course and 10-15 Parking Spaces.
I agree the money from the arena that the student have been paying in should go to this, but I doubt that this is the price point.
Thanks for all of your feed back & support, it's greatly appreciated. In this project I wanted to stress the importance of UWM's commitment to rain water management (aside from the obvious boost to athletics). The most visible manifestation of this would be the green roof that covers approximately 22,000 sqft; which means in a 1 in. rainfall it can sequester 13,600 Gallons of water. Also, the energy savings on heating/cooling the practice space would be greatly increased by sinking it under the hillside.
-Joe Rice