McCann Renovations

[brothertom]

Does anyone know any details on the renovations. I don't think anything is set in stone yet but how much bigger? are the going out into the practice field behind the building? Do they plan on more parking as well so I don't have to park in Hyde Park to see a FB game?

[ctfoxfan]

I brought this over from the old board.

From Pres. Murray's Spring update '09 letter:
Last fall, we asked Robert A.M. Stern Architects to continue the development of Phase I of Marist’s Athletic Master Plan. Stern’s Phase I plan calls for an addition of
26,000 square feet to the McCann Center plus the renovation of 8,000 square feet at a cost of approximately $14 million. Stern’s plan meets all of our requirements in terms of expanded public restrooms, space for athletic training, team locker rooms, student recreation areas, and coaches’ offices. It also provides beautiful locker rooms and meeting space for our men’s and women’s basketball programs. In addition, the plan offers a much more attractive entrance and lobby area, more multi-purpose space, and the capacity to move the food concession operations out of the current basketball arena. The
Stern team met with our Athletic Department several times during the fall, and the Phase I plan is currently being fine tuned to accommodate their specific programmatic needs. The Stern team will now move their focus to the exterior of the proposed addition. Once the schematic design is complete, a detailed budget will be developed to ensure that the proposed project remains within the $14 million estimate.

No mention of a plan to make the place look a little less "high school". Maybe that will come with Phase II. The roll-out bleachers need to go. Any improvements will undoubtedly help with recruiting.


Dont get hopes up - a new arena is part of a Phase III plan and will go where baseball stadium is now - so need to find place for new baseball field (and probably will not have for a few years), part of the plan is a parking deck with a field on top of it. My hope is that they can raise the roof and add more stands - to me it is the small roof that gives it the feel of a high school gym. Yes there are other things as well but to me that is the main thing.

[foxred]

Yea, I totally agree with you ctfox...because although the floor is nice and the student section is perfect for what the students need, they need to lose the rollout bleachers on both sides of the court. Also, from a students' perspective they definitely need to add alot more basketball courts to play on because that is a major issue among students; because it is hard to play in the main gym with multiple sports using it all day and then the grey gyms get either to crowded or someone like frisbee uses it (which is ridiculous).