April 22, 2009
- Carver-Hawkeye Arena Revitalization
- Iowa and the Big Ten Network
- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
IOWA CITY, Iowa The University of Iowa Hawkeye athletics program is one step closer to its goal of a renovated Carver-Hawkeye Arena, thanks to a $250,000 gift from Donald A. and Andie Vogt of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Fort Meyers, Fla. The gift was made through the University of Iowa Foundation.
UI Director of Athletics Gary Barta said the Vogts’ support for Carver-Hawkeye Arena is instrumental to the continued vitality of UI athletics. Barta pointed out that not only is the 26-year-old arena home to the UI wrestling, volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball programs, but two-thirds of the university’s coaches and staff work out of the facility as well.
“Carver-Hawkeye Arena is central to UI athletics. It’s a terrific venue, but it’s in need of significant renovation to keep pace with Big Ten and national standards, as well as with the growth of our program,” Barta said. “We are extremely grateful to Don and Andie Vogt for their partnership and their generosity.”
Don Vogt is the chairman, president and CEO of West Side Unlimited Corporation of Cedar Rapids, which includes trucking, grain salvage and grain sales operations. Andie Vogt is the company’s vice president for marketing.
The couple cited their respect for the University of Iowa athletics program as their reason for making their gift, which follows years of philanthropic support for the Iowa Hawkeyes in addition to Don Vogt’s service on the board of directors of the Linn County and National I-Club organizations.
|
“We want to support the university not just because it is a great place of higher learning but because it is a part of our community and our culture here in Iowa. We are proud to make this donation for the University of Iowa and help the Hawkeyes provide great opportunities for UI student-athletes.”
Don Vogt
|
“We want to support the university not just because it is a great place of higher learning but because it is a part of our community and our culture here in Iowa,” Don Vogt said. “We are proud to make this donation for the University of Iowa and help the Hawkeyes provide great opportunities for UI student-athletes.”
The UI is one of two Big Ten universities without dedicated practice facilities for its men’s and women’s basketball teams and volleyball team, and the available strength-training and conditioning space at Carver-Hawkeye Arena lags behind what peer institutions offer.
To address these challenges, the UI is planning a series of enhancements to Carver-Hawkeye Arena, including a new practice gym complex for men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball; a state-of-the-art, 11,000-square-foot strength and conditioning center; renovation and expansion of the Dan Gable Wrestling Complex; new locker rooms for volleyball, wrestling and men’s and women’s basketball; a new large, high-speed patron elevator; improved and more numerous rest rooms; premium seating opportunities with expanded hospitality and entertainment areas; and new/remodeled office and meeting space for the more than 135 coaches and staff who work with student-athletes in the arena. Preliminary approval of the project plan was granted by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, in June 2008.
For more information on the Carver-Hawkeye renovation project, click HERE.
The UI acknowledges the UI Foundation as the preferred channel for private contributions that benefit all areas of the university. For more information about the UI Foundation, click HERE.