The Iowa Board of Regents gave its initial approval Thursday for Iowa State to upgrade its facilities for its wrestling and track & field programs.
Jamie Pollard, Iowa State's athletic director, announced his department was given the green light to move forward with planning the Malcolm Performance Center, a "transformational" renovation project to the Lied Recreation Athletic Center, which currently houses both the Cyclone wrestling and track teams.
"The state-of-the-art Malcolm Performance Center will touch the lives of more than 100 of our student-athletes on a daily basis and greatly enhance their Cyclone experience," Pollard said in a release.
What will change with the completion of the Malcolm Performance Center?
The plan is to renovate Lied's current space — roughly 45,000 of the 236,000 total square feet is dedicated to Iowa State's wrestling and track programs — as well as construct a 16,000-square foot add-on to Lied's southeast corner.
The project includes new weight rooms, locker rooms, lounges, sports medicine areas, meeting areas and coaches locker rooms, plus a separate entrance to the facility for Iowa State athletes, department staff and visitors to the wrestling and track programs.
"The Malcolm Performance Center project is so exciting for Iowa State athletics," said Iowa State wrestling coach Kevin Dresser in a statement. "Kirk Malcolm and his family have been such great supporters of Iowa State wrestling over the years, and their contribution to this project is another example of their significance to our success.
"I know our staff and athletes are very excited to break ground on this new facility. It will be a state-of-the-art addition to our campus and a game-changer for our program."
When is the project expected to finish and how much will it cost?
The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2025 and will cost somewhere between $20-25 million, which will be paid through additional fundraising and athletic department revenues.
"We are incredibly appreciative to the Malcolm family for this gift as it will transform our facility for practice and enhance the student-athlete experience," said Iowa State track coach Jeremy Sudbury in a statement. "The Malcolm Performance Center is going to be a complete game changer in recruiting."
"The Lied Recreation Athletic Center has served our student-athletes well," Pollard added, "however, this renovation and new addition will allow our wrestling and track teams to remain competitive nationally."
The project is named for Kirk and Rae Malcolm, who donated $5 million to the project. The family supports Iowa State's College of Engineering through the Malcolm Family Scholarship and helped with the renovation of Marston Hall. Kirk Malcolm graduated from Iowa State in 1968 with an industrial engineering degree.
"We are grateful for the Malcolm family's generosity in supporting our student-athletes' quest for academic and athletic excellence, and for the Board of Regents allowing us to advance our planning for this important project," Pollard's statement continued. "This transformational gift from the Malcolm family was given in large part because of the donor's belief in the vision our coaches have cast for their programs.
"While we still have some work to do before getting this project underway, the momentum generated from the Malcolm's generous gift will go a long way toward getting us to the finish line, and making a positive impact on our student-athletes in these sports."
About two-thirds of Lied is used by Iowa State's Department of Recreation Services. As part of the renovation project, the Department of Recreation Services and Athletics Department will exchange some space, but the total space currently allocated to the Department of Recreation Services will not decrease, according to Iowa State.
Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at@codygoodwin.