The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents granted permission to UW to increase funding for the third phase of the Student Athlete Performance Center project.

According to a UW System statement, the Capital Planning and Budget Committee approved the $33.3 million phase of the project through gift funds to continue the renovation of the McClain Center and Camp Randall Stadium during their Friday meeting.

The original plan for the new athletic center and the renovation of current athletic facility spaces was projected at $76.8 million and has now been increased by approximately $9.3 million, said Tim Wise, senior assistant athletic director for events and facilities and interim associate athletic director for major capital projects.

Wise said the funding for the Student Athlete Performance Center project is from a combination of gift funds and program revenue funds from the athletic department, including multimedia rights agreements and TV network agreements from the Big Ten Conference.

Construction for the first phase of the project has already begun. The first phase includes the creation of an underground tunnel to connect Camp Randall and the McClain practice facility, as well as the addition of new turf to Camp Randall. The second phase, set to begin June 2012, focuses on renovations to the McClain practice facility, UW Director of Campus Planning Gary Brown said in an email to The Badger Herald.

“The overall project needed to include additional funds to upgrade and enhance the scoreboard systems in Camp Randall, add waterproofing for a section of deck inside Camp Randall and extend heating, ventilating and air conditioning to an existing area within the stadium,” Brown said.

Wise said the major piece of the third phase is the three-story addition to the north end of Camp Randall, which will house the Fetzer Academic Center. The center will have meeting rooms, classroom space and computer labs. He said the scoreboard will sit on top of the new addition.

A major project carried out by the third phase is the renovation of the lower level of the McClain Practice facility, Wise said. McClain will contain more locker rooms for UW athletic teams who are now doubling up on locker rooms, as well as additional spaces for student-athletes.

Brown said the third phase also includes all of the site work, such as additional bike and moped parking, upgrades to the north practice field and enhancements to Badger Way.

Once construction is completed in June 2012, both the second phase and the third phase will begin construction and should be completed in late 2014, Brown said.

“The reason we’re phasing it is because we’ve got to be able to get through the next two football seasons, so we phased it to minimize the disruption of the football season,” Wise said.

Although the regents have given the OK, the State Building Commission must still approve the plans during their next meeting this coming Wednesday before construction for the third phase can begin, Wise said.