Regents approve new $6M Michigan Athletics Service Building
Is this supposed to be the replacement for Weidenbach Hall? Edit: never mind
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan Board of Regents approved today (Thursday, Nov. 21) the construction of the new Department of Intercollegiate Athletics Operations Center. The approval came during the Regents monthly meeting held at the Michigan Union.
"Centralizing all of our maintenance and operational functions into one facility will create better efficiency and service across our athletic department," said Dave Brandon, the Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics. "We have been in need of a home for these areas and to finally have them all under one roof will be a major benefit. This building will help support all of the current facilities and future development initiatives on the Stephen M. Ross Athletic Campus."
The Athletic Operations Center will house the department’s maintenance shops and offices, laundry, shipping and receiving and equipment storage into one building. By combining all these operations in one central location, the department will increase overall organization, productivity and effectiveness. Currently, these procedures are taking place in various facilities across the Stephen M. Ross Athletic Campus.
The new facility, which will be located to the south of Stadium Boulevard on State Street, will be approximately 18,000-gross square feet. This project is estimated to cost $6 million, and funds will be provided by the Michigan Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
The regents also authorized the commissioning of Niagarea Murano, whose architectural firm will be designing the project. The design stage of the project is scheduled to begin immediately, and the construction schedule is soon to come.
November 22nd, 2013 at 8:40 AM ^
November 22nd, 2013 at 8:49 AM ^
The MLive article (HERE) makes it sound as if this is strictly for certain maintenance and support areas for the athletic department, not meant to replace the entirety of Weidenbach Hall per se.
"The department does a lot of laundry for its student athletes —washing everything from uniforms to Michigan T-shirts to sweatpants with the block 'M' embroidered on the back— and it's planning to centralize that service, along with other maintenance and supply tasks, at a 18,000-square-foot operations center."
November 22nd, 2013 at 11:27 AM ^
"...sweatpants with the block 'M' embroidered on the back"
How did the esteemed sisters of the Mu sorority get the athletic department to do their laundry for them??
November 22nd, 2013 at 9:58 AM ^
November 22nd, 2013 at 8:42 AM ^
Will this have the future foundation for the space elevators required for games in space..thats all i really wanna know...if not then this is a failure to one up Alabama..right? National championship games will be played on mars in 2025 duh!!!
November 22nd, 2013 at 9:05 AM ^
they keep the design in the theme of brick and stone even though it is an operations building. It must be being built in that pie shaped piece of property wedged in by State St., the RR tracks and Stadium bridge.
November 22nd, 2013 at 9:05 AM ^
the Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics
Remember when we were making fun of other schools for doing this? I digress.
November 22nd, 2013 at 9:29 AM ^
Again, it's been like this for almost fifteen years now. It's an endowed chair, just like hundreds of professorships and other positions on campus.
November 22nd, 2013 at 12:08 PM ^
Doing what? Allowing endowments? I don't remember anyone making fun of doing it.
November 22nd, 2013 at 12:41 PM ^
We had a thread mocking Ohio State for putting the wheels in motion to do the same thing or something very similair to this.
November 22nd, 2013 at 1:30 PM ^
And it was immediately pointed out that we've been doing the same thing since the Goss era. So the entire argument is dumb.
November 22nd, 2013 at 1:43 PM ^
November 22nd, 2013 at 11:57 AM ^
South of Stadium on State. Is it on that chunk of land next to the golf course by the 10th hole?
November 22nd, 2013 at 1:38 PM ^
Eh... I don't love this but if infrastructure updates are needed, then I'm not the expert to say it's a waste.
I would say that $6M could endow 6 full-ride scholarships forever...
November 22nd, 2013 at 2:28 PM ^
I mean, whatever. It's a dirt lot adjacent to a railroad track and the edge of the golf course. If it makes things easier elsewhere, and they really do need to do that much laundry (really, oddest reason to sell a building project ever)...
I guess this is also a side effect of the fact that DB supposedly fired or force-retired like half the Athletic Department, then hired twice as many people to replace them. All those jobs have to go to work somewhere, and Weidenbach isn't exactly sprawling.
November 22nd, 2013 at 4:18 PM ^
that U of M will have the best laundry facilities of any football program. Give me crappy laundry facilities and a better product on the field.
November 22nd, 2013 at 5:20 PM ^
Seems like when the athetic department gets cash in hand it burns a hole in their pocket. Still, even at $6,000,000 it's a better value than skywriting.