Give to Gustavus Day: Tour of New Lund Center Part 1

(bright music) - [Tim] So Tane, the really exciting part of the expansion. the renovation and expansion will take place on the west and north side of the building. And as we now look at this space, this entire space right here will be covered by the new building, - [Tane] Wow! - [Tim] which will be nothing but fitness space. And all the machines and all of the weight room will be right in this area here and on the second level, overlooking the football stadium and the valley, Minnesota River Valley. - [Tane] So you’ll be, Gus will be able to be on his elliptical, watching a football game? - [Tim} Absolutely.

00:43 - - [Tane] That is what we’ve all dreamed of. - [Tim] It will be three floors, three levels, the third level will be an open level. above where the fitness machines are, right here. And there will be a student lounge for studying, for student athletes to take a break in between their practices or waiting to get ready for games. And then also a recruiting area, that will be a beautiful space that will look out over the entire valley.

01:05 - And then as you look right here where the forum now ends. - [Tane] This is, this is forum? - [Tim] This is the forum. - [Tane] And it’s over here? - [Tim] Yes, it will end right here. And this entire space, all the way out to the trees will become the new field house, the indoor practice facility. And that will be 100 yards of artificial surface covered in a major building, very high ceiling, that will allow all our inter-mural programs to have space.

01:36 - Football team, baseball, softball, lacrosse, rugby- - [Tane] Badminton! - [Tim] Badminton, yes, absolutely. We’ll have on one end also, the pole vault runs which we now will move to the far end of the building. - [Tane] Indoor pole vaulting? - [Tim] All indoor, well, we have indoor pole vaulting now, - [Tane] We do? - [Tim] with our track on this end of the building. - [Tane] It’s like very little pole vaulting. - Tim Actually, there’s a lotta space, but it will be run along the north side or the west side of this building, and then on the second floor, there’s a wedge that will join the buildings here. All weight room facility, all along here.

02:11 - On the second floor will be all of the athletic coaches, we’ll have offices with windows looking into the new practice facility or into the forum. - [Tane] Wow. - [Tim] And it will be an amazing space and an opportunity. When Gustavus, back in 1984, built Lund, it was the premier facility in Minnesota and attracted student athletes. It was at the time, it added women’s athletic space for women’s athletics, so it was on the forefront. All of the facilities, could be in the winter time, you could go from one event to another.

02:39 - From basketball to swimming, to gymnastics, to hockey. Now this will be that same, but it will have improved locker room facilities, it will have the amazing fitness opportunities. Upstairs also will be all of the rooms where they will be able to have yoga and to have mindfulness classes. And there will be a space for the entire football team and other athletic teams to come into one room and watch and have a team meeting in one space, where the racketball courts were. - [Tane] I’m gonna ask you some brass tax questions. - [Tim] Yes. - [Tane] How, we…

03:12 - Look at all this that you’re talking about adding, so how much building are we talking about adding? How much bigger does this get in comparison to how it is now? - [Tim] So, I knew I should have brought along my square footage, but we are almost three times or four times more of the space in the expansion and renovation than what we have in the current space, in one center. - [Tane] Three to four times as much? - [Tim] Yes. - That’s much, much more, if my math is correct, than doubling? - [Tim] Yes, at a price tag of about $60 million. - [Tane] About $60 million that was gonna be, and then what is the timeline for this? - [Tim] So we’re really hoping. We’re right now hard at fundraising, Tom Young and his team in the advancement staff, and Tom Brown, the Athletic Director.

03:54 - We’re trying to raise the money, but our hope is that the possibility we might break ground this coming spring, and that it would be 14 months of completely shutting the building down and having our teams practice and play in St. Peter facilities and at other colleges in the area, for one year. And then hope after that 14 months, we will open up and be ready with the finest facility in the State of Minnesota for private college or for any institutional facility. For wellness, athletics and for education of health and exercise science. - [Tane] Thank you so much for this wonderful tour.

04:30 - Hey, you should be giving, give to Gustavus, donate generously. If you can afford, I don’t know, 10, 20, $30 million, that’ll get us a lot of the way there. So thank you so much, this has been fabulous. - Thanks Tane, appreciate it. - [Tane] Yeah, awesome. That’s good, I think you got it. It’s gonna be great. (upbeat music) .