Athletes Village

Minneapolis, MN
Construction Cost: 166,000,000 (Total Project Cost)
Area / Square Feet: 329,000
Occupancy Date: January 2018

The Athletes Village is a transformational project for intercollegiate athletics at the University of Minnesota. The facility focuses on student-athlete performance on the field/court, in the classroom and in life. The village is home for football and men’s and women’s basketball, providing these programs with practice, athletic training, and strength and conditioning spaces, as well as offices, lounges, locker rooms, meeting rooms and nutrition areas.

The Athletes Village brings the day-to-day functions of a Division I student-athlete into one location. The adjacency of spaces between training, dining and education provides the student-athlete with the ability to maximize their daily efficiency. Every design choice was shaped with a focus on recruiting and convenience.

The Football Performance Center and the Basketball Performance Center surround and enclose a champions courtyard that provides space for watch parties, receptions, ice skating, fire pits, seating walls and synthetic turf lawn space. The addition of outdoor dining and sand volleyball create a campus backyard for all student-athletes.

The university desired transparency and cohesion across the buildings, emphasizing brand consistency. The interior design acts as a common thread woven through each building, while celebrating the uniqueness of each sport. The interior color palette is infused with the Golden Gopher spirit and tailored for each program.