🔒UConn trustees to consider nearly $100M for Gampel renovation; $5M for boathouse in Coventry

The University of Connecticut Board of Trustees will vote Wednesday on a $99.4 million budget for a comprehensive renovation of Gampel Pavilion — the venue’s first major update since opening in 1990. The revised final budget for the Gampel renovation is $63.4 million more than previously approved for the first phase of the project, which began in May. The board is expected to approve the increase at its meeting Wednesday, along with a $4.95 million project to demolish and rebuild a boathouse in Coventry for UConn’s women’s rowing team. Both items would be funded primarily through UConn 2000 bond funds. The Gampel renovation aims to modernize the 35-year-old arena and create new revenue-generating facilities, according to documents submitted to the board. The 171,000-square-foot domed arena serves as home to the school’s national championship-winning men’s and women’s basketball teams. The project has progressed through several phases. In April 2024, the board approved $10 million in state bonds for initial upgrades, including replacement of the original lower-bowl retractable seating system, replacement of the video board system and upgrades to the lighting. That work has been completed. In October 2024, the board approved a revised planning budget of $1.6 million to study further upgrades, including a market survey of demand for premium stadium seating in the Storrs/Mansfield and Greater Hartford areas. Luxury boxes were identified as options, along with upgrades to concessions. The board approved a $36 million budget in June 2025 for Phase 1 of construction, which included seating improvements, interior expansion space and IT upgrades. According to the university's quarterly construction report, Phase 1 was 90% complete as of Sept. 30. A major factor driving the budget increase was the discovery that the arena's 39-year-old HVAC system requires significant improvements not included in the original project scope. According to the budget report, these upgrades are “essential to mitigate condensation within the arena during events and prevent water accumulation and dripping onto the court surface.” The Huskies play home games at both Gampel Pavilion on the Storrs campus and the larger PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, which recently underwent a $145 million renovation.

Coventry boathouse

Separately, UConn plans to purchase a property at 44 Lake St. in Coventry to build a new facility for the women's rowing team. The boathouse project budget has increased to $4.95 million from a previously approved $2.65 million, after an evaluation of the existing 10,000-square-foot structure found “significant structural inefficiencies and limited overhead clearance.” That revelation made the original plan to partially renovate the existing building impractical, according to budget documents. The proposed facility includes about 4,000 square feet of boat storage space and 2,000 square feet of finished space for locker rooms and restrooms. The facility will include toilets, showers, lockers, changing areas and storage for rowing shells, modular docks and launches. Exterior improvements include a boat ramp and access path to the lake, site grading, landscaping and parking areas. The target completion date for boat storage is September 2026, with locker rooms available by January 2027. The revised budget includes the property purchase cost and closing costs. The project would be funded by $4.73 million in UConn 2000 bond funds and $220,000 in university funds. The Board of Trustees meeting begins at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Wilbur Cross Building in Storrs and will be livestreamed.