In Morgan Burke's tenure as Purdue's athletics director, he has spearheaded major facility projects for virtually all of the Boilermaker sports programs.

But now Burke and Purdue University are about to tackle their greatest facility project to date - an estimated $82-million renovation of Mackey Arena. Construction is set to begin in 2009.

Earlier this morning the University's Board of Trustees voted to award a contract to HNTB Architecture of Kansas City. HNTB now will begin to develop the detailed architectural design and construction documents that ultimately will be bid.

At an afternoon press conference on Mackey Arena's Keady Court, Burke emphasized the enormity of the project now officially underway.

"The Mackey complex is a project that is the most comprehensive and significant facility undertaking in the university's athletic history," Burke said.

Every deficiency Mackey now has will be addressed and many more of the athletic department's needs will be included in the project that Burke says will be completed for the 2011-12 men's and women's basketball programs.

"This is a day of taking the next step for Intercollegiate Athletics," Burke said. "It will bring a 40-year-old campus landmark into the 21st Century while preserving its rich history and tradition.

"Mackey Arena has served this university and its student-athletes, coaches and fans well for 40 years with virtually no renovation at this scale.

"We're mindful that a project of this magnitude is not inexpensive," Burke added. "By leveraging funding from our Big Ten television contracts and private benefactors, we can give to Purdue what Conseco Fieldhouse has given Indianapolis, a 21st Century basketball arena that celebrates the heritage of our program."

The project is expected to be bonded and paid for through revenue the University will get from private contributions (a minimum of $30 million), the Big Ten Network, which launches in August, expected increased concessions (about $2 million per year) and the sale of a limited number of premium club seats.

A fund-raising campaign has begun and will conclude when construction documents are finished by the end of 2008 or early into 2009.

Currently, space is a major problem in Mackey, as well as in the adjacent Intercollegiate Athletic Facility.

The three-level structure, which is planned north of Mackey and will extend from the outer edges of the arena along Northwestern Ave., will provide much-needed room. There will be a lot of glass on the exterior so one can see through the new addition to the brick facade of the original building.

"Mackey Arena is one of the top places in the country for basketball," Coach Matt Painter said. "One of the best aspects of this renovation is that the integrity of the arena will remain the same. This plan is integrating state-of-the-art facilities and still preserving the tradition of the past."

Coach Sharon Versyp added in a released statement, "I'm thrilled about the proposed Mackey renovations. It's exciting to know that we will have a state-of-the-art facility that retains the tradition of Mackey Arena. The changes will benefit the student-athletes, the fans, the coaches and the entire community."

The multi-million dollar project, which currently will be referred to as the Student-Athlete Development Center - but Purdue anticipates a name will be on the building before the project is completed - will include the following:

- A 14,000-square foot sports medicine facility about three and one-half to four times larger than the current area in Mackey.

- A 13,000-square-foot strength and weight training facility approximately four times larger than the existing IAF weight room.

- An oversized basketball practice facility with a full-size court and three breakout shooting areas.

It will be built underground and can be viewed by administrators, fans, etc. in a fashion that the Indiana Pacers' practice facility is in Conseco Fieldhouse.

- Painter's and Versyp's programs will benefit greatly from new players' lounges, locker rooms, meeting rooms, video rooms and coaches' offices.

- The fan experience will be greatly enhanced as the concourse width will be approximately doubled, concessions will increase four times, and restrooms will increase three times for women and by 35 percent for men.

"The fans enjoy what is probably the finest viewing venue in the United States, but that's about where it ends," Burke said. "The concourses are crowded. The concessions and merchandise is hard to get to and the restrooms have long lines during games."

- Lower seating sections on the East side will be modified to allow for some premium seats, with club seats (fixed, padded stadium chairs) and loge seats (office-style chairs on casters) provided. A limited number of premium court-side seats will be available in the West pit area. Accessible seating will increase approximately six times.

It is believed that close to 700 premium club seats will be installed, lowering the arena's capacity from 14,123 to about 13,300.

The premium seat sales will start in 2009.

- Two club spaces will be created, one for the general fans on the west side and a premium club to the east.

- Other upgrades include new laundry facilities, equipment storage and a new athletic ticket office that will be twice the size of the existing one in the IAF.

The current ticket office will be converted into a volleyball locker room, while the entire upper level of the IAF will be transformed into an academic center spanning approximately 10,000 square feet.

- Two side-by-side 100-yard football practice fields will be constructed just south of the Grand Prix track, which will be moved to the west of campus near the intersection of McCormick Road and Cherry Lane. Parking Lot F will be relocated to the site of the current outdoor practice field.

Construction on the new fields will begin next spring and are expected to be in use for the 2008 season.

"Having two 100-yard outdoor practice fields that can be rotated to balance out the wear and tear on them will be a huge asset to our program," Coach Joe Tiller said. "A reliable surface that can withstand the rigors of nearly four months of pounding and not look like a sandlot field in November will help us physically and mentally.

"Combined with the recent renovations of Schleicher Field inside the Mollenkopf Athletic Center, Purdue football will have practice facilities as good as anyone in the country."

� A landscaped corridor for the student-athlete center in the complex will extend between Ross-Ade Stadium and Mackey.

� There will be a second tunnel constructed in the south end of the arena, which main purpose will be to serve the television satellite trucks.

"Obviously Mackey Arena is much more than a basketball arena," Burke explained. "It houses most of our student-athlete auxiliary space and some of our administrative space.

"Today as it relates to the student-athlete, our academic space is insufficient. Our sports medicine and rehabilitation space was built in 1966 when this arena was built. There is insufficient strength and conditioning space in the IAF, which creates an overflow situation into the Mollenkopf (Athletic Center). We have inadequate locker and meeting spaces for our teams.

"The conclusion is that we hinder ourselves in the recruitment of student-athletes and certainly affect the quality of the experience for the incoming student-athletes," Burke added. "As it relates to basketball, we have inadequate practice facilities, inadequate meeting and locker room space, inadequate office and conference room spaces for the coaches."

There were talks about building a new arena.

In 2002, the university's master plan was finished and called for a new arena be constructed by 2025, opposite the Ross-Ade Pavilion (press box).

"The problem is as time has progressed, the degree to which this facility is becoming more obsolete has accelerated in the last six years," Burke explained.

"As we looked at a new arena in 2025, you could be looking at a facility that could be north of $300 million. A community of our size that would probably be a step that would be very difficult to take.

"To build a brand-new facility we would lose the history and tradition of (Mackey). You have a 40-year brand that is really known all over the globe," Burke added.

"There have been a lot of great games played in this building. At the end of the day we felt if we could preserve the history and tradition and get a project that extends Mackey's useful life indefinitely and avoid the need to build two buildings that were in our master plan and do it at a third of the cost, it kind of added up to us."

Purdue turned to a senior civil engineering design class. From 2002-2005, those students and professors studied Mackey and came up with many of the designs that are going to be put into place.

"In 2005, they presented a plan and that plan has become the cornerstone for this design," Burke said.

Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2007. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited. E-mail GoldandBlack.com/Boilers, Inc.