LOUISVILLE, Kent., October 19. THE University of Louisville broke ground on the Ralph Wright Natatorium on the Belknap Campus today as donors, student government members, university administrators, athletic department officials and student-athletes looked on. <\/p>\n
The Ralph Wright Natatorium will feature an eight-lane, 50-meter competition pool with a depth ranging from 4 feet 6 inches to 18 feet. Movable bulkheads will enable the pool to be divided into two 25-meter or 25-yard competition-ready areas. The deep end will feature two 1-meter boards, two 3-meter boards and a tower with diving platforms at 5-, 7.5- and 10-meters. <\/p>\n
The 41,000 square foot facility will accommodate up to 800 spectators and athletes. It will include office space, a large meeting\/hospitality room and separate locker rooms for the public and for team members. <\/p>\n
The natatorium has been designed to be consistent with other Cardinal Park facilities. The building and landscaping will add to the park-like atmosphere on the east side of Belknap Campus. <\/p>\n
"The building of the Natatorium vouches for the University of Louisville's commitment to this program and this sport," said Arthur Albiero, U of L head coach. <\/p>\n
The $10.5 million facility is the result of a unique fund-raising arrangement. Nearly $7 million of the natatorium funding will come from U of L student fees, to be spread out over the next 20 years. U of L's Student Government Association voted in the spring of 1999 to allow $15 of student fees each semester to be earmarked for the natatorium. <\/p>\n
"I take my hat off to the student leadership at this university," said athletic director Tom Jurich. "It is a tremendous statement to have your student body as a full partner in this project. It's unprecedented to have a facility of this magnitude to be erected with the students providing the cornerstone funding." <\/p>\n
The Natatorium will be named after Ralph Wright, U of L's first swim coach. A world famous swimmer himself, Wright founded the American Swim Coaches Association and started Plantation Swim Club in Louisville.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LOUISVILLE, Kent., October 19. THE University of Louisville broke ground on the Ralph Wright Natatorium on the Belknap Campus today as donors, student government members, university administrators, athletic department officials<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-zzzzzzzzz"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n