MINNEAPOLIS — For nearly a century Williams Arena "The Barn” has been the home of Gopher Basketball.
The building has seen updates through the years, but when compared to the glitz and glamour around the Big Ten and beyond, some would say it's seen better days.
A recently released contract shows the University of Minnesota is weighing its options for preserving or replacing the historic arena in the coming years.
According to the contract, the university has hired a company called Populous to weigh the pros and cons of renovating the arena or building a new one from scratch.
According to its website, Populous has designed more than 1,300 sports stadiums in 34 countries, including Allianz Field.
The contract states Populous will create a feasibility study that will dive into the costs and benefits of renovating the arena and building a new one on campus.
That study will be used by university officials to create a plan for the arena moving forward.
Gopher fans have mixed opinions regarding the debate between renovation and rebuilding The Barn.
“Being a student here and growing up a Gopher fan I’d be pretty sad to see it go,” senior U of M student Cade Bormann says.
Some students would prefer to see a renovation so the university can preserve the history of The Barn.
However, other students see the potential of having a completely new arena on campus.
“I think with the program on its way up right now to be able to correlate that with a new stadium would be a really good idea. I think it’s something I would be interested in, even though I’m leaving as a senior, I just think it would be fun for the new students to have a new arena here on campus,” senior U of M student Jack Kamarainen says.
According to the contract, the feasibility study will take a few months to complete.
University athletic officials say they can’t provide many more details until the study is complete and there isn’t a timeline when it comes to making a decision on which option will work best for Williams Arena.
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