UM Regents OK Athletics Dept. Projects

The University of Michigan board of regents took action on two items related to university athletics at its Jan. 19, 2012 meeting.

A $9 million renovation to the entrance of Schembechler Hall, which will integrate the Margaret Dow Towsley Sports Museum area, was approved by the board. The building at 1200 S. State St. was constructed in 1990 for UM’s football program, and contains locker rooms, meeting rooms, medical treatment rooms, training areas, weight rooms, and administrative offices. The project will add about 7,000 square feet to the building, and renovate an additional 7,000 square feet. Funding will be provided from athletic department resources.

In a separate vote, regents authorized issuing bids and award construction contracts for a $14 million project at Yost Ice Arena. The overall project was initially approved by the board at its June 2011 meeting, with a schematic design subsequently approved in October.

The project includes replacing seating on the east, south and west sides of the rink, improving accessibility and emergency exits, converting the west side media balcony into a series of loge boxes, adding a new level five on the west side for media, and constructing new corner and stair platforms for additional seating. The project will be paid for out of athletic department revenues, and has been designed by Rossetti Architects Inc. of Southfield, Mich.

The brief was filed from the colloquium room at UM’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business, where the regents meeting was held this month. A more detailed report will follow.