UVM proposes new on-campus events center, renovations

The University of Vermont unveiled a new plan to solve an old problem.

The one-arena-fits-all vision is no more.

School officials presented a plan Friday to the UVM Board of Trustees that calls for a new, on-campus home for the varsity basketball programs and a revamp of the existing athletics complex. The move abandons downtown Burlington or South Burlington's City Center as potential locations for the project.

The $80 million concept would keep UVM hockey at Gutterson Fieldhouse and build a new events center adjacent to the ice rink that would replace Patrick Gymnasium as home of the school's basketball programs. The proposal also calls for expanded space for student recreation and wellness facilities, from 15,000 to 86,000 square feet.

Two trustee committees unanimously passed resolutions to approve the initial concept and authorized limited spending to begin the schematic design work and prepare a cost estimate and funding plan. The full Board of Trustees will act on the recommendations when it meets Saturday morning.

“From the conversations that I’ve had internally within our department, folks in our campus recreation unit, our coaches, our student-athletes and, importantly, with prospective donors — people really are excited about this,” UVM Athletic Director Jeff Schulman said.

The idea of preserving Gutterson as the home of the hockey programs is one many people relate to, Schulman said, while adding a modern facility for the basketball programs would be “a dramatic improvement.”

“This really resonates with people,” Schulman said. “I’m confident that we can be successful raising the money, and I also, frankly, sense (support), an institutional will to make this happen that hasn’t existed before.”

The project’s expected price tag of $80 million is considerably less than the $200 million when the idea of modernizing the athletics complex was last studied in 2009.

Patrick Gym and Gutterson Fieldhouse each are more than 50 years old, the former little more than an oversized high-school venue and the latter a beloved — if dated — college hockey landmark with its arched, wood-paneled roof.

The funding sources for the new venture have yet to be determined, but officials expect the fundraising requirement will be about $35 million, according to Tom Gustafson, vice president for university relations and administration. That was the gift component required for the most recent update to the project.

“I’m not sure that’s going to be our precise goal going forward, but I think we’re going to have to raise that order of magnitude,” Gustafson said.

PAST COVERAGE: 

Proposed UVM arena still in need of donors

UVM gaining ground on new arena

The new, scaled-back concept calls for a roughly 3,200-seat venue for basketball that could accommodate nearly 4,000 for events. In artistic renderings the facility has some resemblance to Butler University’s iconic Hinkle Fieldhouse, the setting for the final game in the movie “Hoosiers.”

UVM basketball coach John Becker said he’s excited about the plan, which eliminates concerns about the basketball atmosphere suffering in a multi-purpose arena, something other schools in the region have discovered.

“For us, I’ve seen a lot of teams in our league try to do the same thing, and the basketball team always ends up playing in the old gym,” Becker said. “I felt that may happen in a one-arena type of situation. But having a separate facility, playing where you practice, is what creates a home-court advantage. It’s the right size.”

The location, sandwiched between the hockey rink, the parking deck and Patrick Gym, would eliminate about 100 parking spaces, Gustafson said.

The modernization of Gutterson Fieldhouse would include new seating, a new entrance and southern concourse, an upper-level overlook shared with the events center and other cosmetic upgrades. Game-day capacity would be 4,350, and the events layout would hold 6,300 spectators.

The idea: More full seats rather than more seats to fill.

Recent evidence supports the shift in thinking.

Despite the continued success of Becker’s program, the Catamounts have yet to fill 2,400 of the 3,266 seats for a game this winter. The only sellouts at Patrick Gym in the past two years have been the Division I high-school boys basketball finals.

And the athletic department recently announced there is no longer a waiting list for men’s hockey season tickets — something unthinkable 10 or 20 years ago.

“When you look around the country at what schools are doing and professional organizations as well, almost all of them in renovation projects are decreasing the total capacity,” Schulman said. “The emphasis is on having packed facilities and having high energy, and that’s something that I think has always been a hallmark of our program, and it’s very important for me that that remains.”

Other features of the proposal:

• New support space, locker rooms and offices adjacent to Gutterson and the events center.

• Renovating Patrick Gym for recreational use and a new lobby on the campus-facing north side of the complex.

• A new campus fitness center and conversion of the Gucciardi fitness center for varsity use.

• Developing a long-term plan to address other changes to the aquatic center, indoor turf and tennis facilities.

Construction would not begin until 2019, according to the proposed timeline, and would take about three years to complete.

Friday’s presentation was the first official step in that direction.

“This represents probably five or 10 percent of the work that needs to be done in terms of figuring all this out, and we have work to do in terms of fundraising, in terms of institutional monetary commitment to this,” Gustafson said. “But I think it’s a realistic project, and it checks a lot of boxes. …  It’s a pretty smart project, I think.”

Some pieces of the previous plan have been completed since 2009. The school opened a new outdoor track in 2011 and has since added an artificial turf field and stadium seating for soccer and lacrosse.

But the $85 million centerpiece for the last proposal, a 6,500-plus-seat multi-purpose arena to serve both hockey and basketball, failed to gain significant traction.

UVM entertained advances from Burlington and South Burlington to pursue an arena elsewhere in the past year, but staying on campus always was the priority if possible, Gustafson said.

EARLIER: South Burlington proposes downtown arena

“Location-wise, size-wise … the facilities we were talking about off-campus, we were really a small player for the number of nights we’d be playing there,” Gustafson said. “And the facilities contemplated were larger than what we need.”

The South Burlington location was part of a “city center” concept, while Burlington had looked into sharing a renovated Memorial Auditorium.

In a statement, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said the process had been productive for both sides. He congratulated UVM on its decision.

“As with many University initiatives, UVM’s success with this important undertaking will be the City’s success as well,” Weinberger said in the statement. “UVM reaching a timely decision about the best future for their athletics programs is clarifying, and our work with them has helped us understand the potential and the challenges of our site.”

Schulman was upbeat about what comes next for his department.

“I’m thrilled to get after it and hopefully get the board’s support this weekend, get out and fundraise and make this happen,” Schulman said.

Contact Austin Danforth at 651-4851 or edanforth@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @eadanforth