The new Cold War is the college football arms race. Even lil'Northwestern is getting into the act with a new multimillion dollar lakefront athletics complex that football coach Pat Fitzgerald calls a "game changer."
Northwestern breaks ground on new lakefront athletic center, includes $40M gift from Dodgers owner Mark Walter pic.twitter.com/y3mV82MXwh
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) November 6, 2015
From NUsports.com:
The Lakefront Athletics and Recreation Complex will include a fieldhouse that will provide a large, indoor multipurpose facility for football practice as well as Olympic sports team practices and competitions, recreational activities and non-sporting events. It will be named Ryan Fieldhouse in honor of the generosity of alumni Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan. The playing surface within Ryan Fieldhouse will be named Wilson Field in honor of a $15 million gift from alumni Stephen R. and Susan K. Wilson.
The complex also will include the Walter Athletics Center, a state-of-the-art facility that will house academic support services for more than 500 student-athletes, a nutrition center and dining facility, a sports performance center, and office space for coaches and administrators. The building is being named in recognition of a $40 million gift from alumni Mark and Kimbra Walter.
It remains to be seen if these facilities will help generate wins for Northwestern in sports that generate the money that will help pay the bills at these opulent digs.
