LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The University of Louisville on Wednesday announced that the school will construct a new residence hall to house the men's and women's basketball teams, as well as the women's lacrosse team and other students, across from the Planet Fitness Kueber Center on Floyd Street.
The hall on the southeast side of campus will be built in a partnership of the university, U of L campus housing and an outside developer. The 128-bed facility will cost $23.5 million. U of L Athletics will raise $3.5 million in donor funds and will get naming rights to the building for that money.
The new hall will replace Minardi Hall as home of the Louisville men's basketball team. That building will become home to other U of L students.
“We are excited to partner with campus housing in providing both students and student-athletes a premier dorm to call home,” U of L Vice-President/Director of Athletics Vince Tyra said. “The location of the dorm will provide our men’s and women’s basketball teams and our women’s lacrosse team easy access to their primary athletic facility, the Planet Fitness Kueber Center, directly across Floyd Street. It will be a trophy facility that exudes progress on campus as much as in athletics.”
The hall will be connected to the basketball practice facility by a skywalk and is slated to open for the fall 2022 semester. Men’s and women’s basketball and women’s lacrosse athletes — who each train in the adjoining facility — will live in the residence hall. The athletics department will guarantee 63 of the 128 beds in the facility to remain in complacence with an NCAA rule that mandates that no more than 50% of the beds go to student athletes. Athletics will also guarantee an additional 10 beds to be used by team managers and graduate assistants.
The residence hall will also serve as a Living Learning Community (LLC) for sophomore and above Sport Administration majors, enhancing one of U of L’s top undergraduate programs. It will be managed by U of L Campus Housing and will include a full-time live-in hall director and three resident assistants.
The project site is owned by a combination of the U of L Foundation and University and will require a ground lease agreement with the Foundation. The Foundation’s property is currently leased to a company that only requires a short notice to terminate the lease. The University property is currently used for campus parking.
Copyright 2020 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
