The Joint Southeast Campus Area Committee unanimously recommended plans for a new UW athletics ice hockey and swimming facility Monday.
Associate Vice Chancellor of Facilities Planning and Management at UW-Madison Alan Fish presented committee members with updates on the plans for the 2,400-seat arena.
Fish said the design of the facility is done and is ready to go out for bids, which will help fund the project.
The new ice arena will be adjacent to the Kohl Center and will be connected to the Southeast Recreational Facility through an enclosed bridge. The arena will serve as a practice facility for the men's and women's hockey team. It will also be home to the women's hockey team's home games.
""Architects did a good job at making it feel like an extension of the Kohls Center's … design elements,"" Fish said.
Co-chairperson of the committee Mary Berryman Agard proposed an amendment that would help prevent overcrowding if there were multiple events going on at the Kohl Center and the new facility.
The condition requires that no more than 18,000 would be sold for concurrent events at both the Kohl Center and the new ice facility. Committee members unanimously approved Berryman Agard's condition.
""I don't think we'll be pounding on the door to stop [the condition],"" Fish said.
The plan will be up for approval at the Plan Commission Nov. 22.
Fish also presented updates on ongoing projects such as the East Campus Utilities project and plans for the new Gordon Commons facility.
Fish said there should be a bid going out to construction companies for the renovation of Gordon Commons around January. The construction of Gordon Commons will be done in several phases. It will take more than three years for the facility to be completed.
