athletic construction Archives - �鶹��

Miami University Trustees Approve $242 Million Multipurpose Arena, with Broader Recreation Upgrades Planned

Lindsey Coulter — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 14:07:19 +0000

Miami University said the venue is expected to be ready for the start of the athletic season in fall 2028 and is intended to address space limitations and building-system operations and maintenance challenges at Millett Hall, the current arena. | Photo Credit: Miami University

What You Need to Know��

Miami University’s Board of Trustees approved a resolution authorizing��the construction��of a new multipurpose arena at Cook Field.��

The university estimates arena construction at about��$242 million, with up to��$281 million��authorized for the arena and related ancillary costs.

The arena is expected to be ready for the start of the athletic season in��fall 2028, addressing space and building-system challenges at the existing Millett Hall.

Miami University also outlined intramural and recreation upgrades at the Millett Hall site and at Chestnut Fields, with construction expected to run May–September 2026.

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OXFORD,��Ohio��—��Miami University’s Board of Trustees has approved plans to build a new multipurpose arena at Cook Field, a project the university says will expand event capacity, modernize athletic��operations��and support a broader campus events district.��

University officials estimated arena construction at approximately $242 million, with trustees authorizing up to $281 million for the arena and related ancillary costs. ��

In a statement, the university said the venue is expected to be ready for the start of the athletic season in fall 2028 and is intended to address space limitations and building-system operations and maintenance challenges at Millett Hall, the current arena.��Millett Hall opened in 1968 and initially housed men’s basketball, with volleyball and women’s basketball added in 1974. Miami said renovating Millett Hall to add practice courts and a dedicated volleyball court would��require��at least $175 million and would take the facility offline for multiple years.��

Miami University leaders also framed the new facility as a campuswide event venue, saying it would support concurrent student activities and other major events such as commencements, concerts, creative arts performances and career fairs. ��

“We are in a unique and dynamic time for Miami University Athletics. It is time to innovate, invest, and inspire. A new arena benefits all of Miami and will serve as a gateway and beacon for the university,” according to an article from Miami University.��

President Gregory Crawford tied the project to student experience and local economic goals. “This is a student-centered project that will create a vibrant new space intended to bring people together and support and engage our students. A new arena will provide the foundation for an events district in the heart of campus to benefit students, reinvigorate the community, and strengthen our local economy,” he said in an article published by the University.��

Beyond the arena, Miami said the project will also advance recreation upgrades elsewhere on campus. Planned work includes intramural soccer and flag football fields at the Millett Hall site, along with a walking path and exercise stations. At Chestnut Fields, the university described a multipurpose complex supporting full-size soccer fields, softball fields, flag football fields, a rugby field, a lacrosse field and intramural soccer fields. ��

Construction of new recreation facilities at Millett and Chestnut Fields is expected to begin in May 2026 and be completed in September 2026, allowing Cook Field to go offline in September 2026 to begin arena construction, according to the university.��

This article is based on reporting originally published by��Miami University��on��Feb. 27, 2026.��

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DePaul’s Theatre School Achieves LEED Gold

CHICAGO — The Theatre School at DePaul University achieved LEED Gold certification earlier this month, becoming Chicago’s first performing arts building to achieve that level of certification.
The 165,000-square-foot Theatre School debuted in time for the 2013-2014 school year. The facility has been in development since 2001, but the school had needed a proper facility for decades, said John Culbert, dean of the Theatre School.
For more than 30 years, the Theatre School’s “temporary” home has been a former elementary school with additional offices and classrooms in a nearby, reconverted nunnery. The new facility — designed by joint venture New Haven, Conn.-based Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects and Cannon Design, with offices in Chicago — now incorporates a variety of classroom and theater spaces located under one roof.
The first goal of the project was to build a facility that could support the quality level of training available to students at what is considered one of the top professional theater conservatory programs in the U.S. The second goal was to provide a venue that engages the community. “We were [performing] in all kinds of venues but not on the campus, which was not an effective way to engage the DePaul community or our neighbors, Culbert said.
The new five-story school features two theaters, the 250-seat Fullerton state theater and the 100-seat black box Healy theater, as well as 10 acting laboratories and three dedicated rehearsal spaces, each sized to mimic the dimensions of the school’s three different stages (the two new ones and the 1,325-seat Merle Reskin Theatre, where DePaul students continue to perform).
The greatest challenge for the project was that it was located on a tight space for how much the program required. Both space restraint issues and a height restriction in the neighborhood posed problems in terms of making sure each space had acoustical separation.
“The building is tall for a theater building, so there was a lot of careful stacking of spaces,” said Robert Shook, founding partner of Chicago-based Schuler Shook, which served as the theater planning consultant. “A lot of that had to be done with the notion of acoustical separations in mind. It was very important that noise not get transmitted. The Pelli office spent an inordinate amount of time coordinating all of the things that live in the ceilings of these spaces to get as much efficiency to the height of the building as they could.”
The facility features green building elements such as frit glass throughout the building, daylighting elements and a green roof. An interior courtyard, as well as rooftop courtyards, bring light, views and air into the offices and design studios, which is atypical of a theater school.
Perhaps the best example of daylighting is in the fourth-floor Healy theater, which features a glass wall with views of downtown Chicago. The atypical window wall provides light during rehearsals and will possibly be incorporated into future productions, but a system of curtains and shades also darkens the theater when necessary.
“Due to the outstanding efforts of the design and commissioning team, and the project’s contractor, we were awarded LEED Gold,” said Bob Janis, vice president for facility operations at the university, in a statement. “This is no small feat with a building that contains so many large volume spaces and operates long hours.”

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New Chicago Event Center Set to Host DePaul Basketball Games

CHICAGO — Pelli Clark Pelli Architects, headquartered in New Haven, Conn., has recently been chosen to design the new McCormick Place Event Center (MPEC), which will host DePaul University’s men’s and women’s basketball games.

The $7.2 million design features a sweeping curved roof above transparent glass walls. The interior is designed in a bowl-like shape with surrounding seats located above the court. DePaul’s Blue Demons are to start playing in the 10,000-seat event center at the start of the 2016 basketball season.

The design team is familiar with modernizing and expanding the university, as they recently completed the state-of-the-art DePaul Theatre School, which opened in September.

“We are delighted that Pelli Clarke Pelli has been selected to design the city’s new event center,” said Dennis Holtschneider, president of DePaul, in a statement. “Pelli architects were terrific about addressing faculty input into the final design of DePaul’s Theatre School and in projecting an accurate budget. I am confident Pelli Clarke Pelli will design an equally special event center that will make the South Loop proud.”
A nine-member panel chose the architectural firm with representatives from the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA), the city of Chicago and DePaul University serving on the specialized committee. Though the Blue Demons will be the primary tenants of the event center, MPEC will also host 25 to 30 annual events.
According to the university, the new center is expected to generate new jobs, attract tourism and bring economic growth to the planned McCormick Place entertainment district.
“The drawings for the events center are tremendous and this facility will be one of the premiere basketball facilities in the country,” said Doug Bruno, the women’s basketball head coach, in a statement. “We look forward to not only being ranked in the top 25 on the court, but also bringing our up tempo brand of basketball to the South Loop.”
The university recently partnered with FOX Sports, which will televise every Big East conference game. Not only will the new center reinvigorate the school’s support of basketball, but it will also be broadcast nationwide to demonstrate the university’s longstanding commitment to the sport.
“DePaul basketball has been synonymous with the city of Chicago since the 1970s and the historic years of Ray Meyer,” said Jean Lenti Ponsetto, DePaul athletic director, in a statement. “Fast forward to 2013 and we’re very excited about renewing our winning tradition in men’s basketball and continuing our winning ways in women’s basketball. This stately and elegantly designed facility by Pelli Clarke Pelli will showcase not only the Blue Demons but also the rich tradition of BIG EAST basketball.”

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