Campus Times
December 10, 2004
In 2005 the University of La Verne will begin the reconstruction of the Supertents.
“March is the first phase of a two phase renovation of the Supertents into the Sports Science and Athletic Pavilion,” Director of Facilities Management Brian Worley said.
The University of La Verne has a beautiful, traditional and family feel to it, but the school committee still feels that much improvement can be done.
“We want to be attractive and competitive and we need to be able, both athletically and academically, to have facilities that function in the 21st century,” Athletic Director Christopher Ragsdale said.
The University currently has a facility of 50,166 gross square feet known as the Supertents.
The tents were built in 1974 and are still standing strong. The major events that take place in the tents are volleyball and basketball.
The tents also provide all the athletes with a training facility, locker rooms, a student lodge, café, student mailboxes, classrooms and offices for many professors and coaches. The second floor is the court for games hosted by the University.
Once all construction is complete, the committee plans to change the name to the Sports Science and Athletics Pavilion.
“The reason that we came up with that is very important,” Ragsdale said. “When people think about our athletic program, the fact that we are a part of the NCAA Division III and what that really means to us as an institution, is that you have an athletic program that exists as an integral part of the institution. The marriage between athletics and academics is very important in institutions like La Verne.”
The new center will no longer contain the café and student mailboxes.
“We will be relocating the residential student life functions, student service functions, debate squad and The Spot,” Worley said. “We are finding other locations to house those functions. The Spot will not be in existence for a while, but we will be reconfiguring parts of Davenport to take up some of those functions.”
The exterior of the tents, which have become a local landmark, will remain the same.
It will go from a two-story building to a three-story building. The first floor will contain athletic offices, locker rooms for athletes and students, a treatment center, a weight and conditioning area, classrooms and the movement and sports science center.
The second floor will have new bleachers that will seat up to 1,200 people, a basketball and volleyball court, a new aerobic dance studio with mirrors and a new sound system, an additional section of the weight and conditioning area, classrooms and three labs.
The third floor will have offices for the basketball and volleyball coaches.
The floor will also contain a Hall of Fame room. This room will be a glass room that will contain awards from the University and an area for meetings and entertainment of visitors. This entire third floor is planned to overlook the playing court on the second floor.
The renovation will be entirely funded by private gifts and pledges for the school.
“It is all privately funded,” Ragsdale said. “This is a fundraising campaign, this building portion of what we are trying to do is all a part of a larger campaign.”
The new Sports Science and Athletic Pavilion is expected to be up and running by fall 2005.
Melissa Rodriguez can be reached at mrodriguez2@ulv.edu.