The Lehigh Athletics Department announced plans for the renovation and expansion of the Goodman Campus Athletic Complex, as a result of an $8 million donation from the parents of a current Lehigh student athlete.
The gift, which Lehigh announced in a memo on Aug. 16, will provide for the renovation and expansion of the Cundey Varsity House and allow the university to continue developing plans for a new indoor facility that will permit athletes to train all year round.
According to the memo, Lehigh Athletics requires $30 million total in donations to fully realize its renovation and expansion vision.
Pending board approval, Lehigh Dean of Athletics Joe Sterrett said he anticipates the construction on the Cundey Varsity House to begin in early April of next year. He expects the project to take about 18 months. The athletic department will then look to raise enough money to begin construction on the new indoor facility, which will take 10 to 12 months to complete.
Sterrett said he believes both projects will be completed by fall 2024, giving some current student athletes and the general student body the opportunity to use them.
Sterrett said these facilities will allow for the development of Lehigh athletes, not only as athletes but as students and human beings.
An $8 million gift launches Lehigh’s athletic expansion. Lehigh’s athletic facilities and fields are primarily located at Goodman Campus. (Ruoxuan Li/B&W staff)
“Your education as a student is enhanced if you have quality facilities to work in, and for the preparation of athletes, it’s very much the same,” Sterrett said.
After renovations, the Cundey Varsity House will offer a larger sports medicine space, an expanded strength training area, a pitching and hitting facility, a student athlete nutrition lounge and new locker amenities, Lehigh Athletics announced in the memo. The new indoor facility will house a roughly 94,000-square-foot turf field, which is large enough to accommodate multiple teams at a time.
Sophomore Maria Urban, a pitcher on the softball team, said these renovations will help her team practice and prepare for their season better.
Urban said the softball and baseball teams would occasionally practice indoors in the Rauch Fieldhouse, which is home to the track and field team. She said this resulted in scheduling challenges, and that the team would sometimes have to practice early in the morning or late at night.
“I think in terms of team culture, it will help the athletic department as a whole,” Urban said. “It’ll definitely make people closer.”
An $8 million gift launches Lehigh’s athletic expansion. Lehigh’s athletic facilities and fields are primarily located at Goodman Campus. (Ruoxuan Li/B&W staff)
She said having a separate facility will be beneficial because teams won’t be in each other’s ways and timing for practices will be better.
In the decision-making process for renovation and expansion, Sterrett said there is a committee composed of staff members in the athletic department, a student athlete development team and a campus planning team. They work together to recognize enhancements or changes that are needed to elevate the student athlete experience.
“This whole emphasis on holistic development of our athletes is very central to what we do,” Sterrett said. “These facilities will give us more space to do more integration of teams and athletes and coaches so that we get some synergies across our programs.”
Michael Garzillo, director of development for athletics, said these facilities will allow teams to remain competitive and raise their levels of training.
They will also aid the university in recruiting and retaining more high-level athletes.
“They’ll give our program leaders even more opportunities to develop a championship culture,” Garzillo said.
Urban said she thinks the new renovations will also give more recognition to sports such as softball and baseball on campus.
Sterrett and Garzillo both said they are most excited to give student-athletes expanded opportunities.
“We want to give athletes a better chance to become the best possible version of themselves as a student, as a leader, as a person, a citizen of our community and to prepare them for postgraduate life,” Sterrett said. “These facilities will give us the opportunity to do that in a very distinctive way.”
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