Construction of the Steve Tisch Sports and Fitness Center and other renovations to school athletic facilities, scheduled to begin this spring, have been delayed due to fiscal constraints brought on by the nation's current financial crisis.
The renovation was made possible in part by a $10 million gift from Steve Tisch (A '71). All told, the changes are projected to cost $30 million and encompass a 30,000 square-foot plot between Cousens Gymnasium and the Gantcher Family Sports and Convocation Center, where the current fitness center is located. As The Daily reported last fall, the project was to include the construction of new locker rooms, teaching space and a coaching office suite.
The second phase of the project -- renovations to Cousens -- was to involve improvements to the current basketball court and the conversion of Hamilton Pool into squash courts, while adding a replacement pool.
Before the economy took a turn for the worse, the renovations to Cousens were expected to begin in March and workers were slated to break ground on the new fitness center at the end of next semester.
Although Director of Athletics Bill Gehling said he is disappointed by the delay, he understands the decision was necessary during these turbulent times for the financial markets.
"It's not a surprise," Gehling said. "We still hold out hope that maybe things will improve by the time spring rolls around, but we understand that these are significant times economically and there are other more important things for the university besides athletic facilities."
The root of the problem has been the tightening of the credit markets, which has made it more expensive for the university to secure loans.
"As President Bacow said, the decision [to delay the construction] was mostly made for us," Gehling said. "The cost of borrowing money in the short term has increased too much."
Despite the university's difficulty in procuring reasonable short-term loans, the athletics department has been buoyed by the amount of money generated through alumni donations. Even with Tisch's donation, the university still needed additional private funding to give the initial green light for construction.
"We've had a significant number of gifts towards this," Gehling said. "We've been very encouraged by our ability to raise funds, which is why we had the opportunity to break ground before recently."
In the meantime, the economic crisis is not expected to have further effects on the current status of Tufts' athletic facilities.
"There will be no other impact on our functionality," Gehling said. "We've managed with these same facilities for a long time, so there's no reason we shouldn't be able to manage for a little while longer."
For students, the decision to delay construction does not come as an overwhelming shock.
"It makes sense," said junior Dalton Swing, who works for the athletics department and is also captain of the club soccer and baseball teams. "I had originally heard that they wouldn't be done by the end of my senior year anyway. It's understandable, but it's obviously still disappointing. In my years, new facilities probably wouldn't help or hurt my [club] teams, but I know for others it could have helped."
Still, even though many current students will not be around to personally enjoy the benefits of the new facilities, Swing looks forward to the opportunities that the new space will allow the school. "It's embarrassing that with our basketball court, for instance, we can't host playoff games because the court is eight feet too small," he said. "We're excited about the new facilities, and hopefully they aren't delayed for too long."
