Rendering courtesy of HKS Architects
By Robert Francis
The 52-year-old Daniel-Meyer Coliseum at TCU will receive a $45 million renovation once funds for the project are raised, the school announced today.
The Texas Christian University Board of Trustees approved the renovation at its board meeting Friday.
Fundraising got a boost with a lead commitment of $10 million from Ed and Rae Schollmaier, university officials said.
“Having the opportunity to renovate Daniel-Meyer Coliseum helps TCU achieve its ongoing goal of optimizing its physical campus,” TCU chancellor Victor J. Boschini Jr. said in a news release. “We are very grateful to Ed and Rae Schollmaier for their continued support of TCU.”
The planned facade for the Coliseum would architecturally complement Amon G. Carter Stadium and the TCU campus, overall, bringing it to the neo-classical beaux-arts style, according to descriptions provided by the university. The interior would have a lower playing surface to increase courtside seating and provide a more intimate atmosphere. Wider concourses and multiple public entries would ease congestion. Concession stands and restrooms would also be upgraded. A new courtside club lounge would be built on floor level.
The men’s and women’s basketball programs would get new locker rooms and team meeting rooms as well as a larger sports medicine center. There would also be new locker rooms for visiting teams.
Additional features of the proposed Coliseum redo are a TCU Athletics Hall of Fame display on the concourse level, offices for Olympic sports and administration and a larger main ticket office to support both the coliseum and Amon G. Carter Stadium.
The facade of Daniel-Meyer Coliseum would complement the adjacent football stadium, which underwent a $164 million rebuild completed before the 2012 season, the school’s first as a member of the Big 12 conference.
HKS Inc. of Dallas is listed as the architect of record for the project.
“Depending on fundraising, my hope is to have construction begin this time next year,” TCU director of intercollegiate athletics Chris Del Conte said.
TCU Board of Trustees member Ed Schollmaier is former president and CEO of Alcon Laboratories. He and his wife, Rae, donated $5 million to build the Ed and Rae Schollmaier Basketball Complex at TCU, which opened in 2004.