MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is moving forward with plans to expand the Klotsche Center that will improve student recreation space and create a dedicated basketball practice facility after receiving approval from the state Legislature in its 2019-21 capital budget.
 
The Klotsche Center annex will be a multi-purposed training facility with an additional basketball court and gymnasium space. Its construction will relieve overcrowded areas in the Klotsche Center during high-use times when athletics and campus recreation coincide.
 
"We are very happy to be able to move forward with this project," said Steven Mohar, director of University Recreation. "This ability to meet the need of students for expanded athletic and recreational facilities has been something that we have been working on for some time. This facility will benefit the shared space that campus athletics, recreational sport clubs, and intramurals have all been using and open up more programming space for University Recreation in both the Klotsche Center and Pavilion."
 
The annex, which will be attached to the east side of the UWM Pavilion, will provide a new dedicated practice facility for Milwaukee men's and women's NCAA Division I basketball programs. It benefits recreational sport clubs and intramurals by reducing overcrowding of existing facilities and provides facilities comparable to those of other Division I universities in the Horizon League.
 
With the use of the Klotsche Center increasing more than 100 percent in the past decade, and intramural participation growing by 97 percent, the new facility would increase the overall space by nearly 15,000 square feet – a 15 percent increase to the current building.
 
"We are grateful to be in a position where this facility is becoming a reality and helping us substantially improve the student-athlete experience," Director of Athletics Amanda Braun said. "This has been in the planning stages for some time and we are excited to see it move forward. It will have such a positive impact on both the student-athletes and the entire UWM community."
 
The project was approved by Gov. Tony Evers and state legislators in July after being recommended for final approval at the Board of Regents Capital Planning and Budget Committee meeting earlier this year.
 
It will be funded with private donations and student segregated fees already being collected and will not result in future increases to student segregated fees.
 
The next step in the process will be architect selection, which will then begin the design process.