Gersten renovation?

[SteveA'07]

A few years ago I remember reading about plans for a major renovation of Gersten. I haven't heard anything since. Did I miss something? Has this been pushed back or cancelled? I love Gersten and the history, but it is not exactly a nice gym. USD went from quite possibly the worst gym in D1 basketball to one of the nicest smaller arenas in the country. I've been hoping for something like that. Has there been any recent official (or unofficial) word on this lately?

[stillalion]

I think the plan you are remembering involved wrapping a 2nd building in a "L" shape around two sides of Gersten. There was a model of it hanging around for quite some time.

I don't know exactly what happened but that plan has been scrapped in favor of an entirely new gym in Hannon parking lot. (You can see this plan as part of the new LMU Master Plan). But, of course, we have a long way to go to get the $ to build a new gym.

In the meantime, they are going to build a weight room and locker room building between Gersten and the soccer field. This will let them re-do the current locker room area and make it much larger and more basketball specific.

It will also allow them to do something on the upper bleacher area where the weight room currently is. But - really these are all just relatively low cost measures to keep us going until the big bucks are found and a new gym can be build. I would think a new gym is at least 10 years away. Maybe 15 or 20. But, going to the tournament a few years in a row has the ability to shake $ from the tree.

[oldestlion]

Original plans called for a wraparound building that would hold coaches offices, new locker rooms, training rooms, weoght rooms, etc. We couldn't get anyone to step up with the bucks so coaches' offices were moved to Collins (they're great) and everything else was on hold. Now, there's a plan that should be implemented within the next 180 days, to build a facility outside Gersten to include new locker rooms, weight and training rooms and conference rooms, on a much smaller scale.

Guess who is the lead $$$ provider for this facility? No other than the much maligned fraternity ADG, through its proud alumni group. They have pledged $250,000 for naming rights for a very nice conference room and, as a result, the facility can be built. None of the other fraternities or sororities on campus have done a thing.

If any of you belong or have belonged to a Greek organization, now's the time to get your group moving so that LMU basketball has a better place to show recruits and quit b*tching if we don't land them and get better.

We can't turn Gersten into a true arena. It's a prefab building and all of the walls can't be moved because they are stress bearing. We'll just do the best we can until we build a NCAA championship challenger, fill Gersten every night and then push for a new arena.

[SteveA'07]

Thanks for the info. Any images/renderings of what the new place could look like? Especially the interior?

[oldestlion]

The Athletics Department has the plans. Contact Husak's office.

Were you interested in getting a group to pledge some bucks?

[LIONS90045]

LMU has a master plan to upgrade the campus including replacing Gersten with a new sports pavilion. Here is a segment from the Environmental Impact Analysis and a link to the document. Following approval of the plans, LMU expects to complete the renovations by 2030. Unless things are moving more quickly with respect to Gersten, I would not hold my breath.
Plus, I understand LMU is just completing construction of a new weight room adjacent or in Gersten so that may be it for a while.

Any further details insiders?

"LMU also seeks to enhance the campus' recreational facilities and open space. LMU proposes to construct approximately 28,000 gsf of net new indoor athletic facilities, which would include replacing Gersten Pavilion with a new sports pavilion, for a new total of approximately 213,000 gsf of indoor athletic facilities. Through the reconfiguration of buildings on campus, LMU would also be able to add approximately 4.8 acres of net new outdoor athletic facilities, and 5 acres of net new landscaped open space, within the existing campus boundaries."

www.planning.lacity.org/eir/LoyolaMarymountUniv/DEIR/TOC.html

[LIONS90045]

This from the Executive Summary:

"The Proposed Project proposes a new enclosed Sports Pavilion in the southern portion of Burns Campus to replace Gersten Pavilion. The Sports Pavilion may be approximately 108,000 square feet with approximately 6,000 seats, and would provide new locker rooms, faculty offices, Athletics Program coaching, training and administrative staff offices, strength training space, and physical education
teaching stations."

As described, the new facility would include replacement of the new weight room just being built so I take this is a long range project, more like its on LMU's "wish list" type of project.

[stillalion]

This gym is a big "wish list" for LMU. In fact - the entire "Master Plan" is a wish list.

Personally, I would rather see Gersten taken down and a new gym put where it is right now. Maybe moving the soccer field over to Hannon Lot. (underground parking underneath). It keeps most of the athletic facilities right next to each other and keeps them further away from the neighborhood houses.

Also, I am still not sure what they would do with Gersten if the build the new gym either. I guess it could become a general use space for athletics and the university at large for events like the Wine Classic. Or it could be a practice facility for Basketball and Volleyball. But, it seems like an eye sore to me for those uses. The only interesting thing I could think of is if they rebuild the inside to make it a Volleyball specific venue. It could be a pretty powerful recruiting tool to have a volleyball venue that was purpose build. I don't like watching volleyball games that are shoehorned into basketball courts. (or vice versa for that matter).

The big problem I see is if the tear down Gersten and it just becomes open space or a small locker room for the teams that play over there. But, I think this is a "problem" that I could learn to live with!

[fanblade]

It would probably be more expensive to tear down Gersten and replace it rather than build a new stadium on a graded site somewhere else. Also that sort of project could take over a year, so you'd have to disrupt athletics for a year. That would be killer for all programs inside Gersten. GP would likely be decommissioned after a new pavilions is open.

I haven't seen any plans for the new "annex" but I assume it'll be a prefab sort of structure (ie. not particularly nice looking) but should provide the needed space to have a D1 weight room and locker rooms finally.

I think a 10-15 year timeline is appropriate. GP is fine for now once we can upgrade the locker rooms and weight room to a more world class level and continue with other aesthetic/functional rehabs (ie BATHROOMS!).

[stillalion]

The new annex building is in the same vein as the baseball shed. At least that is what I have been told. (I hope it's a bit better then that).

And I agree - it would be simpler to leave Gersten up and not have a down year or two with no venue - but having the gym so far away from the rest of the sports venues will take away some of the intimacy of the sports complex we have right now. But, once the coaches offices went 1/2 way across campus I guess intimacy isn't really a high priority.

Sometimes I wish life was more like the SIMS. I could tear down a building and upgrade it with just the click of a button.

[crazycagegirl]

We don't need a new gym, honestly. Compared to at least half of the WCC teams, Gersten is perfect. Until we can fill what we have to capacity on a regular basis, we need to just keep it the way it is. I would hate to have something as huge as Jenny Craig (HAH), making the emptiness so apparent.

I cannot believe that the campuses up here in Nor Cal charge for parking. That's just asinine.

[SteveA'07]

JCP isn't really THAT much bigger though. I believe it's official capacity is 5,100. Gersten is 4,300 or something. Something in the JCP range seems good. For now, Gersten's capacity is fine. But it's just so damn bland and kind of ugly to be honest.

[crazycagegirl]

Why do we need something big and fancy? Gersten held all the fans 20 years ago. A state of the art gym just isn't necessary, in my opinion.

I don't believe that Jenny Craig is not that much bigger than Gersten. It's HUGE compared to us, it feels. Or...maybe the emptiness is so obvious because the facility is gigantic compared to the actual seat count...

Gersten was my home for almost 3 years, so of course I've got a bit of an emotional attachment to it, but if we built another gym, that wouldn't be Hank's House. There's a certain bit of sentiment in Gersten. Why tear it down? We don't bring in enough people to warrant a new, state of the art gym. Besides, in this economic downturn, the last thing we should be spending money on is a new gym simply because it "looks better" than the one we have now.

Bland and ugly? What do you expect it to be? It's a GYM, for crying out loud.

[ironlions]

We just need to get new locker rooms and a weight room and we will set. Very important for recruiting. I think there are probably several prisons that have better weight rooms than us. Also completing the removal of the old bleachers would be cool.

[titanczar]

Gersten has undergone some nice renovations recently.

The 100 level seats have been changed; chairbacks on the side behind the team benchs and getting rid of those old wooden bleachers on the other side.

The video board is a great touch, only one in the LA area, not named U$C or UCLA.

Though a drop down scoreboard would make Gersten better.

But talking to people, what Gersten is lacking is "support facilities" like coach's offices, training room, etc.

If LMU does build a new arena, build it near the NIMBY's!!!!!!!