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Crew house to be renovated near Lakeshore Dorms
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by Matthew Dolbey
Friday, September 5, 2003
When Lakeshore residents opened their mailboxes this fall, they were greeted with a letter explaining that a current structure would soon be gone from the landscape. The University of Wisconsin rowing team’s home is going to be demolished to make room for a new facility with enough space to accommodate the growing crew teams.
The UW crew house, used until this fall, was originally prepared to hold between 55 and 60 male rowers, according to men’s head coach and boathouse coordinator Chris Clark. “At the beginning of the fall, we’re going to have a men’s and women’s team with over 300 student athletes,” Clark said. “The current crew house is extremely small.”
UW sophomore and rower on the women’s crew team, Kirby Gallie agrees.
“It’s too small,” Gallie said. “I’ve just rowed in high school, and it’s the best little crew house I’ve ever been in, but I don’t think it is what other big schools have.”
Small size was not the only problem with the old crew house. A lack of women’s locker rooms was also a major issue.
Women’s coach Maren LaLiberty said that it was a hassle for women to change in the basement locker room of lakeshore dorm Humphrey Hall. Another problem was the fact that only one women’s bathroom existed in the old crew house.
The new crew house will possess more than just women’s locker rooms, more bathrooms and more space. The coach’s offices will move from their current offices at Camp Randall Stadium to the new crew house.
Other than those facilities, the team will also benefit from some new on-site training equipment and a moving water tank that lets the student-athletes row during the winter months.
“It’s a nice change of pace from the rowing machines every day,” Clark said.
LaLiberty said the change would give the teams facilities comparable to other collegiate crew outfits.
The renovation project is expected to cost more than $8 million and is to be funded solely by donations. The renovation has been in the planning stages for many years, Clark said. The athletic department talked of the project when Clark first came to UW in 1994, but delayed demolition of the current crew house for more than two years.
“I’m just excited that the destruction started to take place,” Clark said.
Clark also said the temporary home for the starting crew team is Willow Beach, a piece of land tucked away west of the dorms along the Lakeshore Path.
“Nobody’s complained yet,” Clark said in response to the current location. He added that working out of a temporary “tent” is not all bad when you know you will be getting something much better.
“I’m sure people will get tired of it late in the fall semester or early in the spring semester, though,” Clark joked, “but you can make do when you know something great is on the way.”
The coach said the project was delayed for so long in order to accommodate groups with issues regarding a new building in the Lakeshore area, citing that environmental groups worry about the loss of old trees.
“We have paid attention to trees,” Clark said. “Some of them are old oaks, and they won’t be cut down.”
Clark also joked that the new building will be an attractive alternative to the “ugly” building that used to house the crew team. “The architecture will blend into the landscape,” he said.
While there were worries that a huge monstrosity would dominate the area, the medium reached will not be ostentatious.
UW sophomore and Lakeshore residence hall resident Mike Bruni does not see any problems so far with the construction.
“It doesn’t seem to be a problem,” Bruni said. “I don’t think 10 o’clock is that early to start the noise.”
He also noted that the heavier studying has not started yet for classes.
