In the midst of a campus-wide discussion about the financial constraints of need-blind admissions, Macalester is moving forward with plans to rebuild the fieldhouse and the Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center.

Proponents say that the renovation projects are long overdue.

“The renovations are important,” President Brian Rosenberg said. “The Janet Wallace complex is now more than 40 years old and was not intended to handle either the current number of students or the range of current programs. The rec center is even older and isn't meeting the needs of many in the community.”

Treasurer David Wheaton estimated that renovation plans for the fieldhouse and fine arts center would cost approximately $30 million and $60 to $70 million, respectively. The funding will come from a capital campaign, which draws large donations from alumni for the long-term needs of the college and is outside the college’s annual operating budget. The last capital campaign ran from 1995-2000 and Wheaton said that another one will begin soon.

According to Wheaton, the renovation projects are the last two parts of the college’s 1994 Master Plan, which was created by former Macalester president Robert Gavin and included the construction of the new campus center and the renovation of Kagin Commons.

Wheaton said both projects are moving on “separate but parallel” tracks, with the fieldhouse slightly farther ahead.

Last spring, the Athletic Department hired St. Louis architectural firm Hastings and Chivetta to develop a conceptual plan for the new fieldhouse. The firm presented several designs to the Macalester community at focus group meetings and open forums.

The current leading design for the new building includes a 200-meter track with four tennis courts inside the track, primarily to alleviate space constraints during the winter and spring when six varsity teams compete for gym time. The design also features an event arena, along with another area with recreational basketball courts, a fitness center that will run the entire length of the facility, and student recreation lounges.

Associate Athletic Director Vanessa Seljeskog said she is anxious for the start of construction, which could occur as early as spring 2006.

“Right now, the building doesn’t seem welcoming or inviting at all, and it lacks in general recreation and fitness areas,” she said. “It’s time to pull together a building that caters to the needs of all Macalester community members.”

Seljeskog said the capital campaign ensured that renovations would not impact the quality of academic programming. “We don't tap into the operating budget because we don't want to compromise academic programs for bricks and mortar,” she said.

The current facility was built before Title IX granted equal athletic opportunity to women, and Seljeskog said that today’s student body is far more active than in past eras. Balancing varsity athletics with wellness, recreation, and multiple-use space is the main challenge facing today’s fieldhouse and the most important component of the design for the new facility.

Softball player Kate Ayer ’06 said the space constraints are one of the biggest problems with the current facility. “Sharing the fieldhouse with different teams makes practicing difficult with people standing around and watching,” she said. “Who wants to practice at 9 p.m.?”

Some need-blind advocates criticized the timing of a capital campaign for fieldhouse renovations. “Most alums share a much bolder vision. They want to support access first and then pay for the frills later,” William Sentell ’02 said. “If I wanted to support access to new treadmills, I’d give all my money to students and tell them to go to Gold’s Gym around the corner.”

But women’s distance track and cross country coach Jordan Cushing said the new fieldhouse will benefit the entire community by encouraging healthier habits for both athletes and non-athletes. “We need to have a space that’s more open to all students, where people can walk in and try equipment without feeling like they have to ask someone for permission,” Cushing said.

Accessibility is also a critical issue for the fine arts complex, which was built in 1964 with no elevators in any of the buildings, with the exception of Humanities.

“Students with disabilities cannot access these spaces and we are seriously out of excuses for this unacceptable situation,” Art Professor Ruthann Godollei said.

Godellei also pointed to huge space limitations in the buildings. She said the art building was designed for 100 students and four faculty, and now must support 500 students and eight faculty.

“The entire fine arts complex is very dated, not just aesthetically, but in a way that sometimes limits its utility,” said music student Adam Nelson ’06. “I often find that the number of practice rooms is inadequate, and they’re pretty shabbily equipped to begin with. Improved facilities could do a lot to attract potential music students and up the caliber of the department as a whole.”

According to Classics Professor Andy Overman, advocates for the renovations recently completed a program statement for the project, which put the size and type of facility needed into writing. He said he hoped to see construction start within the next five years.

“The need for these new facilities is truly great,” Overman said. “Fine arts faculty and students have been working and succeeding in what are now sub-par facilities. These faculty and students have specific facility needs in order to conduct their work, research, and performance, and without these facilities, our college would dramatically lag behind other schools.”

Over the next year, the faculty will develop a more specific design for the facility and determine which parts can be renovated and which need to be completely rebuilt. Wheaton said the humanities building is still workable in some ways.

“The price tag comes from how we can add and what we need to completely rebuild,” he said. “The athletic building in all likelihood will go first, because [the renovation plan is] more well-defined. But we won’t be digging the ground this semester or next.”