bring the dream home

These investments are being strategically prioritized now to foster long-term financial health for the entire university. Athletic success on a national scale will elevate the university’s brand, reputation, and self-generated revenues. Attributable revenue growth from admissions, philanthropy, and auxiliary revenues will allow DePaul to make future investments in academic and institution-based initiatives.

Further, these investments are a historic and transformational opportunity for DePaul that will immediately boost the trajectory of all 15 of our varsity athletics programs. Upon completion, every DePaul student-athlete will have access to industry-leading training, practice, sports performance, sports medicine, and wellness facilities. These investments will provide our student-athletes and coaches the resources to train, recruit, and compete at the highest levels of collegiate athletics.

After an 18-month study, the university determined that the overall financial investment in DePaul Athletics has historically been materially lacking and has proven to be an impediment to program success.

Among the findings, DePaul currently stands as one of only two BIG EAST Conference programs without a dedicated basketball practice facility constructed or currently in the design phase for impending construction. Further, DePaul is among a small minority of Division I institutions that still do not offer locker rooms for each team, severely affecting the student-athlete experience and recruitment of potential students across all 15 sports. Each of the two proposed projects are slated to fix DePaul Athletics’ most pressing needs and provide space for future growth.

These investments are being strategically prioritized now to foster long-term financial health for the entire university. Athletics success on a national scale will elevate the university’s brand, reputation, and self-generated revenues. Attributable revenue growth from admissions, philanthropy, and auxiliary revenues will allow DePaul to make future investments in academic and institution-based initiatives.

Yes, all 219 student-athletes and all 15 sports programs will benefit from these projects through the creation of dedicated locker rooms for all varsity sports—for the first time in school history—in addition to modernized sports performance, sports medicine, team meeting room, and nutritional spaces for all student-athletes. These investments will provide our student-athletes and coaches the resources to train, recruit, and compete at the highest levels of collegiate athletics.

The estimated total of approximately $60 million for both capital projects will be funded primarily through donor gifts. The projects have dependencies between them, so one cannot be accomplished fully without the other; however, the projects can run concurrently once said dependencies are met.
‍
As part of a larger university philanthropic expansion, the Philanthropy Committee of DePaul’s Board of Trustees has approved two focused fundraising campaigns—the first to support academic initiatives focused on interdisciplinary research and learning, and the second to assist in the funding of these capital projects for DePaul Athletics.

Philanthropic support and corporate naming opportunities will be key to the advancement of these projects and fundraising will begin immediately.

The feasibility study was key in determining the most cost-effective option that accomplished the goals set forth in the needs assessment and affected the most student-athletes possible, while also leaving flexible spaces to adapt to evolving needs and future growth. 

The project will be fully compliant with the City of Chicago’s Sustainable Development Policy by achieving 100 points for the construction of the new training facility from the DPD Sustainable Strategies Menu. Further, the project will meet, or exceed, the City of Chicago’s energy code and stormwater ordinances and will focus on initiatives that reduce indoor water use, waste diversion, and bird protection.

The renovation of the Sullivan Athletics Center will allow the opportunity for the building to be updated to meet modernized building codes.

The basketball practice facility will be constructed at the corner of Belden Avenue and Sheffield Avenue on DePaul’s Lincoln Park Campus, across the street from the current Sullivan Athletics Center. The facility will replace a few currently constructed, DePaul-owned and privately managed housing properties. DePaul’s Sheffield Square student apartment complex will not be affected, nor any other academic spaces.

The university considered a variety of concepts as part of a robust feasibility study. After conducting a needs assessment with student-athletes, coaches, and athletics staff, reviewing benchmarking data from peer BIG EAST institutions, and discussing with campus partners, DePaul adopted the proposed model.

Key factors in the selection of the proposed location were property costs, student-athlete and staff access, proximity to student-athlete housing and other support services, and other ancillary costs that would be incurred with off-campus locations.

The renovation of the Sullivan Athletics Center will not affect any other buildings or spaces. The new basketball practice facility is currently planned for the northwest corner of Sheffield and Belden, across from the Sullivan Athletic Center, where a recently acquired, university-owned apartment complex currently is constructed. There are four other smaller buildings in this area, including the current Athletics Annex and other housing-managed properties. The demolition of these buildings would not begin until summer 2025 at the earliest. No academic spaces will be affected by either project.

The construction of the new basketball practice facility will not bring new populations to campus. This project will be accessible to the same population we currently service, now spread out between two buildings.
‍
The university will work carefully to ensure traffic impacts on Sheffield and Belden Avenue are minimized during the construction of the project. A pre-construction community meeting will be held once a construction vendor is selected to further discuss this impact.

Wintrust Arena serves as a state-of-the-art facility for game day and pre-game practices; however, its non-DePaul event calendar, and the logistics of daily transportation to Wintrust Arena are not feasible for regular practice when considering academic commitments on the Lincoln Park Campus. Additionally, all student-athlete support services are located on the Lincoln Park Campus.

Currently, DePaul is the only BIG EAST Conference institution that does not have a dedicated basketball practice facility constructed or currently approved for construction. A basketball practice facility, separate from the team’s home arena, is not uncommon in the BIG EAST Conference or within Power 5 schools—in fact, it is considered the current industry standard.

The university conducted a needs assessment with student-athletes, coaches, and athletics staff. We also reviewed further benchmarking data from peer BIG EAST Conference institutions. Upon completion of the feasibility study, Athletics shared the results with various committees of the Board of Trustees, university senior leadership, deans, the University Athletics Board, the Student Government Association, Faculty Council, Staff Council, the Strategic Resource Allocation Committee, and other key campus stakeholders, including Housing, Dining & Student Centers, in order to garner feedback and refine the proposal. This process took place over a period of 18 months.

DePaul has engaged with and solicited feedback from former 43rd Ward Alderman Michele Smith, current 43rd Ward Alderman Timmy Knudsen, and the city’s Department of Planning and Development. In addition, DePaul’s Neighborhood Advisory Committee (NAC), comprised of leaders of the surrounding neighborhood groups including the Sheffield Neighborhood Association, the Wrightwood Neighbors, the Seminary Townhome Association, the Lincoln Central Association, and the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce, were given a high-level conceptual description of the project for feedback. The university received positive initial feedback from these groups and DePaul will work closely to ensure that the concerns of the community are heard and taken into consideration as planning continues.

The university hosted a formal community meeting on Nov. 9, 2023, to outline the projects and garner further feedback from the community. The meeting was moderated by Alderman Knudsen.

The modernization of McGrath-Phillips Arena will provide a state-of-the-art competition venue in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, perfect for evening entertainment outings, small events, and local school competitions as permissible by NCAA rules. The additional space alone will also allow for more collaboration with community groups for usable and rentable space in McGrath-Phillips Arena.

Overall financial strength from enrollment levels and student retention are benefits that inure to the entire university and the surrounding Lincoln Park community in the form of stability in the number of faculty and staff jobs offered and the university’s economic impact on the neighborhood. The construction of both projects will further support new job opportunities and generate indirect tax revenue and permit-related fees payable to the city.

Further, the university is committed to creating economic opportunities for minority-owned, woman-owned, and Chicago-based businesses through the advancement of these projects. The targeted goal for subcontracted spending with both minority-owned and woman-owned businesses for the project is 32%.

The project will be fully compliant with the City of Chicago’s Sustainable Development Policy by achieving 100 points for the construction of the new training facility from the DPD Sustainable Strategies Menu. Further, the project will meet, or exceed, the City of Chicago’s energy code and stormwater ordinances and will focus on initiatives that reduce indoor water use, waste diversion, and bird protection.

The renovation of the Sullivan Athletics Center will allow the opportunity for the building to be updated to meet modernized building codes.

Yes, there will be numerous opportunities to get involved and have your gift be recognized within either facility.  For more information, please contact Patrick Gray at patrick.gray@depaul.edu

The basketball practice facility will be constructed at the corner of Belden Avenue and Sheffield Avenue on DePaul’s Lincoln Park Campus, across the street from the current Sullivan Athletics Center. The facility will replace a few currently constructed, DePaul-owned and privately managed housing properties. DePaul’s Sheffield Square student apartment complex will not be affected, nor any other academic spaces.

The parcel on the northwestern corner of Fullerton and Sheffield is reserved by the university for a higher purpose. DePaul already has zoning approval for the development of a future mixed-use housing and academic facility. In the meantime, this site has current contractual obligations in place for tenants who serve our community, including RUSH Physical Therapy and the United States Postal Service (USPS).

Now is an acceptable period in our history to remove low-density student housing for two reasons. First, we’ve had a period of enrollment decline in recent years. While enrollment is beginning to increase, we currently have approximately 2,100 fewer undergraduate students than our peak in AY14. Second, the capacity for DePaul Housing is currently outpacing demand, and as of November 2023, we currently have 75+ unoccupied beds available in our inventory.

As enrollments continue to improve, the longer-term intention is to construct larger housing facilities with modern amenities that students have come to expect. As such, there are three sites approved for possible new student housing in the existing master plan.