Ever since the ceremonial wall was first broken on August 1, 2024, renovations have been underway on the present Regents Center, soon to be known as the Gerdin Fieldhouse. The renovated facility is to be named after the foremost donor Mike Gerdin (‘92), his wife Nicole and the Gerdin Family Foundation. Much of the original facility will be redone; some of the highlights include renovated training facilities, new wrestling rooms and a reconfigured basketball arena: the Birkestrand Family Court. 

The original plans for the Fieldhouse have been in the works for about a decade now according to Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Renae Hartl. 

“The original plans were drafted in 2015 and then revamped in 2023 and 2024,” Hartl said.

The construction drafts consist of four phases:* 

• Phase I (in green) will convert the existing racquetball courts into the visiting teams’ locker rooms, as well as add a new general lobby, concessions stand and athletic hall of fame (to be completed by January 2025). 
• Phase II (in teal) will consist of the new men’s locker rooms, training facilities and the Birkestrand Family Court (to be completed by September 2025). 
• Phase III (in purple) will renovate the women’s locker rooms (to be completed by September 2025). 
• Phase IV (in pink), the only phase to involve new construction rather than gutting and rebuilding, will add the new wrestling rooms (to be completed by October 
• 2025). 

*All completion dates are tentative. 

Each team will have its own secure and unique locker room space and new team meeting rooms as part of Phases II and III. Additionally, building access for outsiders will all be through the soon-to-be-constructed north entrance and lobby, which will help control the flow of people, especially during crowded events. 

The new wrestling spaces are expected to be completed by October 2025 — just in time for both a new men’s wrestling season and the inaugural women’s wrestling season to start. 

The 2024-2025 season will be the last season that Luther’s basketball and volleyball teams will compete on the current gym floor; an official lights-out ceremony is planned in late February to mark the end of one court and the start of the Birkestrand Court’s construction.

Marko Dolovac (‘28), a first-year basketball player, pointed out how the atmosphere of attending Luther sporting events in the new space will change.

“Since they’re changing the layout of the basketball court to a dome, it will definitely improve the atmosphere of basketball games, volleyball games, and even wrestling meets,” Dolovac said. “Everyone will get a 360-degree view of the action.” 

Director of Facilities Services Jay Uthoff is also the project manager for the Gerdin Fieldhouse. He is working in conjunction with representatives from the Minneapolis-based real estate development firm Opus Design Build and their project partner RDG Planning & Design to fully complete the Fieldhouse by October 2025. According to Uthoff, the timeframe for completion seems promising. 

“So far, [progress] looks good, but we’re just getting started,” Uthoff said. “We’ll know more as Phase I is getting developed. Steel is arriving next week and how the erection for the frame [for the lobby and locker rooms] go will determine how the schedule looks.” 

In late September, the Legends Fitness for Life Center flooded during construction, causing the facility to shut down for over a week while it was repaired and cleaned up. Uthoff explained what caused the flood.

“Flooding in Legends was a result of the plans for the water mains not being outlined correctly,” Uthoff said. 

Water mains are the large pipes that transport water from a source to smaller pipes for distribution around a building and provide fresh water access. Uthoff pointed to considering these as being one of the challenges of renovating rather than building new.

“There are limitations to building within an existing structure,” Uthoff said. “You think you know where things are but you don’t necessarily know for sure.” 

While work on the first phase at the north end has presented its challenges, construction is still going smoothly and is expected to be completed on time, according to Uthoff.

The 2025 completion of the Gerdin Fieldhouse will usher in a new era for Luther College athletics. For more information on the renovations, click here.