By Allyson Noenickx

Throughout the summer, construction crews continued to make progress on the Hart Center construction project. Since crews first broke ground in April, they have made major renovations to the basketball arena and ice hockey rink–both of which are set to open later this fall for the 2016-2017 season. Other major projects this summer included foundation layout for the new fieldhouse, electrical duct work and the placement of structural steel for both the strength and conditioning area and main entrance.

“We have seen significant progress on the Luth Athletic Complex this spring and summer,” said Nathan Pine, director of athletics. “Major renovation work was done to the hockey locker rooms and coaches’ offices, as well as to the basketball arena; both of these areas will be open for practice and competition this fall along with the main entrance. The new construction portion of the project is also moving forward nicely as the steel continues to go up on the new main entrance to the building, the indoor center, the strength & conditioning area, and the auxiliary court,” said Pine. Recent renovations to the basketball arena included framing the new ceiling, audio/visual trenching and laying out the new floor and subfloor. In the ice rink, crews completed the new Men’s and Women’s Ice Hockey locker rooms, and constructed an American Disabilities Act ramp and platform for spectating.

“It is very exciting for our student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni and fans to get to see daily the size and scope of this transformative project,” stated Pine. “Construction headway can be monitored daily on our live web camera available at http://www.goholycross.com.” In addition to the live webcam feed, throughout the summer community members received periodic construction updates via email from Jamie Hoag, director of government and community relations. Hoag will continue to provide updates and notify community members of any potential impacts the construction may have on campus.

Some students have expressed their excitement for the project and its impact on campus. “I believe that the construction and renovations being made are fantastic,” said Emma Gurchiek ’19, a member of both the Women’s Soccer team and Women’s Swimming and Diving team. “The upgrades are going to benefit not only athletes, but the entire student body. The Luth Athletic Complex is a great addition to Holy Cross.”

In addition to the renovation of existing spaces, the completed Luth Athletic Complex is expected to include a sixty-four thousand square foot indoor practice facility complete with one hundred yards of turf for use by all field sports, an auxiliary gymnasium for Basketball and Volleyball team practice and competition, three thousand square feet of new space for sports medicine, nine thousand five hundred square feet of new space for strength and conditioning, locker rooms for all varsity teams, offices for all programs, and an exterior plaza for events.

The renovation, a part of the College’s Become More Campaign, was spearheaded by a thirty-two-and-a-half million dollar commitment from John Luth ’74 and Joanne Chouinard-Luth, D.M.D., the namesakes for the new complex. The Luth Athletic Complex is estimated to cost ninety-five million dollars total, and is expected to be fully completed in the summer of 2018.