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University of the Pacific breaks ground on new athletics facilities
Caravan News 7186

University of the Pacific breaks ground on new athletics facilities

Two Pacific projects likely to employ 170 construction workers, pump $7.6 M into economy

Construction of University of the Pacific’s $1.5 million Janssen-Lagorio Performance Center and a clubhouse for the $4 million Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center is expected to employ 170 construction workers between now and when the two facilities open in spring 2017, pumping an estimated $7.6 million into the county economy.

The projects are part of an ambitious long-range plan to provide Pacific students and the broader community with some of the finest athletics facilities on the West Coast.

The Janssen-Lagorio Performance Center, an expansion of the Janssen-Lagorio Gymnasium, is the latest upgrade to Pacific Athletics facilities to help student-athletes succeed in West Coast Conference competition. The 2,861-square-foot performance center, which will provide exercise equipment and weights for weight and conditioning training and a “fuel station” offering quick and nutritious snacks for student-athletes, is being made possible in part by a $1 million donation from Kathleen Lagorio-Janssen and Dean Janssen, prominent Central Valley philanthropists and business leaders.

“Dean and I couldn’t be happier to make this gift. Our Tigers deserve the highest quality facilities, and we are proud to be able to support them,” Lagorio-Janssen, chair of the university’s Board of Regents and an alumna of the Gladys L. Benerd School of Education, said in making the donation announced in August.

The Janssen-Lagorio Gymnasium, widely recognized as one of the premier training gymnasiums in the West Coast Conference, was built in 2009 with a leadership gift from the Janssens. The gymnasium serves as the practice facility for Pacific’s basketball and volleyball teams, as well as for campus recreational sports, and is a popular venue for community and special events.

“The Janssen-Lagorio Gymnasium has had a tremendous impact at Pacific and in the greater Central Valley region,” said Ted Leland, Pacific’s athletics director. “The Janssen-Lagorio Performance Center, made possible by Dean and Kathy’s latest gift, ensures that our student-athletes will have access to world-class facilities, and will empower Pacific Athletics to continue to recruit and train the best and brightest student-athletes.”

Construction of the Janssen-Lagorio Performance Center will coincide with the construction of the 4,262-square-foot clubhouse for the $4 million Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center, another donor-sponsored expansion of Athletics facilities slated to open in spring 2017. Patios and shaded areas will bring the clubhouse project to 9,500 square feet. The tennis center was made possible in part by a $1.5 million donation by former Tiger and professional tennis player Eve Zimmerman. The gifts are among the most significant to Pacific Athletics in university history. Together the two projects are expected to employ 170 construction workers and generate $7.6 million in economic impacts across San Joaquin County.

In recent years, Pacific Athletics has added and upgraded several facilities to allow student-athletes to better perform and succeed in the WCC and other conferences. Among those facilities are new field hockey and soccer fields, the Raney Sand Volleyball Courts, upgrades to the Bill Simoni Field for softball, and a baseball batting and training facility adjacent to the Klein Family Field, where the university’s baseball team plays.

Pacific rejoined the West Coast Conference during the 2012-13 season, a move that allowed the university to directly compete against nine other private nonprofit universities on the West Coast, including Gonzaga, Brigham Young and Santa Clara. Pacific has 18 NCAA Division I sports, including 13 in the WCC. The move also required adding sports, such as the men’s soccer team, and upgrading athletic facilities, which will allow Pacific Athletics to recruit

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