Forum shutdown marks next phase of renovations
The Elmen Center Forum will shut down starting April 5 for its second phase of renovations.
The Forum, Augustana’s primary hub for indoor athletics and intramural sports, will see its original 1989 flooring replaced and new stadium seating installed. While the Forum will remain inaccessible through August, other Elmen Center facilities, including the pool and weight room, will remain open.
The flooring and seating upgrades are the second part of a two-year plan to modernize the Forum. Phase one, completed last year, updated the facility’s audio and lighting systems.
Logan Haak, the director of recreation and facility manager for the Elmen Center, said the renovations are a response to Augustana’s high-performing athletic programs and a growing student body.
“The scope of what we can do with updated facilities, I think it improves at a wide margin,” Haak said. “As our university improves, we get more students coming in, and being able to put a new face on something is something I’m really excited about.”
The renovations follow other recent investments in campus infrastructure, including the construction of Midco Arena in January 2024, the construction of Foundation Heights apartments and renovations to the Chapel of the Reconciliation.
Campus Facilities Manager Jon Martin said that the Elmen update is being funded through donors rather than tuition, addressing what he called a “hot-button issue.”
“You can fight as to why people would give into a basketball arena rather than textbooks,” Martin said. “But the fact is that it’s donated funds that’s being used for it, not tuition dollars.”
While the Elmen Center’s renovations rely on private gifts, the university is looking towards other financing plans for other campus infrastructure projects.
Lincoln County issued $33.9 million in economic development revenue bonds on the university’s behalf on March 1. The package helps fund the construction of the Foundation Heights apartment complex, a remodel of East Hall and Old Main for what bond documents describe as an engineering program, and renovations to two additional residence halls. It also refinances an existing loan on Midco Arena at a lower interest rate.
Martin described the scale and pace of construction at Augustana as a “golden era” for the school.
“It’d be hard-pressed to look back to find a time where we had so many new and updated projects going on simultaneously,” Martin said. “I think we’re in a golden time for our enrollment and attracting students to Augustana as well, so it goes hand in hand.”
The flooring and seating upgrades are the second part of a two-year plan to modernize the Forum. Phase one, completed last year, updated the facility’s audio and lighting systems.
For student workers like Abel Alene, senior building supervisor and intramural official, the timing of the closure makes sense.
“At least it's the time where people start going outside, and weather is already being nice,” Alene said. “I think the timing is better now than it would have been any other time.”
Alene explained that student activity typically shifts outdoors as the weather improves in April and that the closure won’t affect spring intramurals.
With the renovations beginning in April, construction crews have until the beginning of August to complete the upgrades. Martin said he is confident that the project will be completed on time.
“There’s very little opportunities in a project like this for a delay to happen as long as you have your products coming in, and it’s not like a lot of other things where you might discover something that you don’t expect,” Martin said.
Haak encouraged students with questions about the closure to contact his office for more information.
“Just because a portion of our facility is closed down doesn’t mean the Rec Services isn’t here,” Haak said. “We want to make sure that you know that we’re still around, and if you have an activity that you’re interested in participating in, we want to find the solution.”
