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.