La Crosse, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse athletic department has announced plans to construct a new practice facility for the Eagles' gymnastics team.  Construction of the facility, with an expected square footage of 10,000 to 12,000, is anticipated to start in summer 2013.  The building will be located on UW-L's North Campus, near the Eagles' baseball and softball complex.  Project design is scheduled to take place during the 2012-13 academic year.

The facility will be used for UW-L's gymnastics practice and the Jr. Eagles' Gymnastics Program.  UW-L's home gymnastics meets will continue to be held in the Mitchell Hall Gymnasium.

“It is truly an exciting time for the UW-L gymnastics program,” said head coach Barbara Gibson. “We are busy planning a gymnastics facility that UW-L gymnasts past, present and future will be proud of having.”

The facility will be a stand-alone venue for the gymnastics team and for the development of a club program for the La Crosse community.  “We are so excited about developing a state-of-the-art facility for training gymnastics,” added Gibson. “It will be complete with multiple pits, channel bars, tumble track, and multiple stations for drilling gymnastics skills.” 

The Eagles currently practice in Wittich Hall, the original physical education building on the UW-L campus, which opened in 1916. 

“We want to thank the UW-L administration for its vision and commitment to UW-L athletics,” said Josh Whitman, Director of Athletics.  “The new facility will be fully dedicated to our gymnastics program and it will continue to help our program be the best in NCAA Division III.  We look forward to getting construction plans started and utilizing the new facility in the near future.”

Gibson enters her 28^th season as UW-L's gymnastics coach in 2012-13.  She had led the Eagles to a record 15 National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) titles, including 10 of the last 12.  UW-L won its 18th Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championship under Gibson in 2012, its 14th in the last 16 seasons.  The Eagles have won 21 conference crowns overall, the most in WIAC history.

“To plan a new gymnastics facility is a dream come true for the UW-L gymnastics coaching staff,” said Gibson. “The student-athletes are very excited and it will certainly enhance our recruiting efforts.”