Rams Club Giving It Up
for Hoops Practice Court

This spring, the Smith Center will begin undergoing an estimated $1.5 million renovation project, its largest since opening in 1986 and only the third since the installation of four large video screens in 1995 and the addition of riser seats last year.

The renovation will involve three projects: converting the Bowles Room in the adjoining Koury Natatorium into a practice basketball court; remodeling a 3,000-square-foot memorabilia lounge with new exhibits, flooring and lighting; and updating the locker rooms with new floors and ceilings, larger showers and new lockers.

Senior Associate Athletic Director Jeff Elliott said the renovation would begin in May with the locker rooms, which should be finished in time for next year's basketball season. Construction of the practice gym—which was the original intent for the Bowles Room space—is scheduled to be completed by January. Work on the memorabilia room is expected to be finished by summer 2002.

About the need for the practice gym, Elliott said, "People use the Smith Center floor for so many things [summer camps, concerts, etc.], and the basketball team has no place to work out at different times during the year."

The Educational Foundation, Carolina's athletics booster organization also referred to as the Rams Club, will fund the renovation with private donations. The renovation project will mean the Rams Club will relocate from its space in the natatorium to an off-campus location.

Events held in the Bowles Room, such as pre-game receptions and news conferences, will continue to take place on the new practice court next season. Elliott said another facility eventually would be built for such functions.

The UNC System Board of Governors approved the project on April 12 after approval from the board's budget and finance committee, which has the authority over building projects at all campuses in the UNC System.

Rams Club President John Montgomery said the project has been in the works for several years, well before Coach Matt Doherty '84 returned to Chapel Hill.