Groundbreaking Ceremony: University of Illinois at Springfield students, faculty, staff, local legislators, the mayor of Springfield, and other dignitaries gathered together on Thursday, July 27, 2006, to break ground for the university's new $16.2 million recreation and athletic center.

• Read more about the groundbreaking »
• Click here for Video On Demand of the groundbreaking ceremony.

Construction on the center should be complete by the summer of 2007. The center is funded primarily by fees paid by UIS students. In addition, UIS received a generous gift of $1 million from the Hoogland Family Foundation of Charles and Kathleen Hoogland.

• Read more about the Hoogland family and their support for the center »
• Read more about the design and construction of the center »

Watch Us Grow! At right is a live snapshot of the construction in progress. Each time you refresh this web page, you will see a new image. Click here to view the live WebCam. You'll be able to pan and zoom the camera directly from this web page.

View photos below of the architechtural renderings of the center.
The campus entry plaza.	The event entry plaza.
The campus entry interior lobby.	The event entry lobby.
View photos below from the press conference in July 2005 announcing the center.
UIS Chancellor Richard Ringeisen (r) thanks Charles Hoogland (l) for the Hoogland Family Foundation's generous gift toward construction of the center.	Charles Hoogland, founder of one of the nation's first video rental stores, explains his family's desire to support our students, as Chancellor Ringeisen and former UIS student leader Tyson Roan look on.
Former UIS student leader Tyson Roan talks about the generosity of UIS students who voted for increased fees to suppport the recreation center, even though most of those voting will have graduated by the time the center is open.	UIS Men's basketball coach Kevin Gamble visits with Chancellor Ringeisen, while Chris Miller, vice chancellor for student affairs speaks with Charles Hoogland.
Many UIS employees, members of the local media, and friends of UIS watched the press conference on July 13, 2005 announcing the new recreation and fitness center.