By Eugene Vilensky
The University of Louisville is attempting to raise $1.5 million to build a new boathouse for the women’s rowing team, The Courier-Journal reported on Wednesday. The glass-and-brick building will be the new home of the women’s rowing team and will be shared in part with a program of the Greater Louisville Rowing Foundation.
According to the latest Louisville Rowing Club newsletter available online, once the new facility is constructed, the old boathouse will be used for GLRF high school programs and for LRC’s rowing activities.
Janet Lively, U of L’s assistant athletic director for development, told The Courier-Journal the fund drive is just beginning. She said there is no deadline, and private individuals, foundations, and businesses will be asked for the money. Lively said construction would not begin until all of the money was pledged. Construction is expected to take about a year.
Kathy Steward, secretary of the GLRF, told The Courier-Journal that new rowing center will give the organization’s program for disabled people and the high school rowing teams more space for boats and equipment.
The new rowing center was designed by Louisville’s Rowland Design Inc., whose president, Beth Brown, is a member of the Louisville Rowing Club, and was “involved in the project to make sure rowers’ needs are incorporated into all design and construction plans.”
The new facility is planned to include two boat bays for the U of L Women’s Rowing Team and an additional two bays for use by the LRC. The building will also house a workout room, a locker room with showers, office space, and a balcony overlooking the Ohio River.
The C-J reported the new rowing center will have three levels and 11,000 square feet of space; the current building has about 4,000 square feet. The new center will also include a 120-foot dock.
The expansion is part of Phase II of development of Louisville’s Waterfront Park, which “covers all areas from the eastern end of the park to just west of the Big Four Bridge.” It includes a significantly larger children’s playground, pleasure boat docks, and an amphitheater, in addition to the rowing center.
