The University of Northern Iowa has gotten approval from the Board of Regents to begin construction of a new sports practice facility.
UNI vice president Mike Hager says the new building would be a companion facility to the McCloud center where the volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball and wrestling teams compete.”In addition, it is this court that is used for practice by three of those four sports. So in addition to it being a performance venue, McLeod serves as a practice facility as well,” he says. “However, there’s insufficient quality practice space, and these sports have been using some courts in the Recreation Wellness Center.”
The new building will provide practice space for the basketball and volleyball teams. “This is a 27,000 square foot facility, estimated at a $14 million project. It would be constructed immediately south of McLeod Center to allow for shared use of spaces in the McLeod and avoid construction of redundant spaces such as locker rooms,” Hager says. Hager says the practice facility will have two courts. “The courts are slightly oversized to allow for turning smaller half courts sideways to allow for twice as many hoops for basketball practice, and then additional striping on the floor to allow for volleyball standards and nets as well,” Hager says. “So the planning is such that there are four different sets of stripes on the floors to allow for enhanced practices for each of the sports.”
Hager says gifts will fund the cost of the facility. Construction is expected to get underway this August, with completion by March of 2027.