Northwestern Announces $220MM Football Facility

[Quattro]

Northwestern is ready — finally — to build the multipurpose lakefront facility that football coach Pat Fitzgerald says will be a "game-changer" for his program.Donations have poured in despite the Wildcats' 5-7 record last season. Sources said construction of the two-building complex will begin by early 2015 and should take about two years to complete.
The school will announce Friday, the Tribune has learned, that it is launching a new fundraising campaign and that Mark and Kimbra Walter have donated $40 million to be used for athletics and law school scholarships. Mark Walter, a graduate of NU's law school, is the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

NU's football facilities have not been enhanced since 1997, when the school spent $30 million to renovate Ryan Field and build an indoor practice facility about a mile from campus. In 2012, ESPN.com rated NU's football facilities the worst in the Big Ten.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...rn-football-spt-0314-20140314,0,5530198.story

Pretty cool, not a big fan of the design though. Can't wait for ours to be revealed here soon. Good for them though, always good to see a high academic school attempt to succeed at the highest level of college football.

 

[tante]

Gorgeous just a great settimg

 

[CVilleBuff]

Gorgeous setting. And Buff fans would show up there in force given all the Chicagoland kids CU draws.

 

[GregInArlington]

Too bad it's so damn cold.

 

[fatbuff]

I lived north of there for 2 years. Couldnt leave fast enough. The pics make it look like a Caribbean beach, I think reality is far from that.

 

[BuffSurveyor]

Say what you want. But Northwestern is building a very nice and much needed facility for their athletic programs. Good for them.

 

[OUBuff]

I made a quick stop by a beach on south Lake Michigan... It WAS like a Caribbean beach without the salt. Beautiful, it was hard to believe.

 

[sackman]

Not a fan of that style of architecture, but the new facilities are definitely impressive.

 

[CVilleBuff]

Not a fan of that style of architecture, but the new facilities are definitely impressive.

In that setting, it fits IMO.

 

[nolabuff]

Nothing with Ryan Field though? That place always seems like a dump on t.v. It does seem to have some potential if they poured some money into it.

 

[Waldo]

I lived north of there for 2 years. Couldnt leave fast enough. The pics make it look like a Caribbean beach, I think reality is far from that.

I grew up on the north shore, correcto mundo, it is nice mid May to Mid Sept but then it's time to bolt.

 

[GoBeers]

So what is going to happen to their revenue stream when NWU's players unionize, demand pay for play, then the university decides to drop football instead of having a pro team on campus?

 

[DBT]

Man. Lots of wasted space and they have to air condition it. Purdy though.

 

[Hugegroove]

Artists renderings always appear different from reality. But it does look nice. So I wonder how long it took to raise that kind of $$$ and how much of the 220m was raised through private donations?

 

[30Something]

Man. Lots of wasted space and they have to air condition it. Purdy though.

My thought exactly. Looks like 30 sq/ft of "walking around" space for every 1 sq/ft of usable building space. Inefficient from an energy perspective.

 

[MiamiBuffs]

Artists renderings always appear different from reality. But it does look nice. So I wonder how long it took to raise that kind of $$$ and how much of the 220m was raised through private donations?

Given thats a private school Id say all of it.

 

[cmgoods]

Not related to this, but is there anyone in the conference who isn't renovating or building new facilities?

 

[cubuffs85]

Not related to this, but is there anyone in the conference who isn't renovating or building new facilities?

UMD is trying too, but they still haven't raised the necessary funds for an indoor practice facility. Hence, the major (really, only) reason they are moving to the B1G=money.

 

[cmgoods]

UMD is trying too, but they still haven't raised the necessary funds for an indoor practice facility. Hence, the major (really, only) reason they are moving to the B1G=money.

I meant Pac-12

 

[cubuffs85]

I meant Pac-12

I wasn't sure which one you were talking about, but since this was an article about B1G, I thought that's what you meant.

I'm not sure the answer, but it wouldn't surprise me if all schools are in some degree or another. Facilities are an arms race, you get one, and other schools can't remain complacent.