Construction of new SMU Indoor Performance Center celebrated at Mustangs' annual spring game

Contact: Nancy George, ngeorge@smu.edu, 214-768-7674

DALLAS (SMU) – SMU celebrated the building of its new SMU Indoor Performance Center Saturday, April 14, during the annual Mustang spring football game. The 67,000-square-foot facility with its indoor practice field, training facilities and entertainment areas, slated to open in the spring of 2019, is a reflection of SMU’s commitment to a first-class and competitive athletic program.

"Opening onto Bishop Boulevard in the very heart of our campus, this facility will enhance the student-athlete experience, elevate our competitiveness and serve as an asset to the entire campus community," said SMU President R. Gerald Turner. 

Located at the corner of Bishop Boulevard and Binkley Avenue, the new center will be built on a site long dedicated to SMU Athletics. A basketball pavilion built in 1926 was replaced by the 1942 construction of the Perkins Gymnasium. The gymnasium was converted in 1957 to the Perkins Natatorium, home of SMU Swimming and Diving, which moved in 2017 to the Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center on SMU's East Campus. The new facility will continue the site's historic legacy.

"The SMU Indoor Performance Center represents a tangible, visible investment in our ongoing vision to establish SMU Athletics as the best overall program in the American Athletic Conference," said Director of Athletics Rick Hart.

Donors of more than $1 million to the center include Bill Armstrong '82 and Liz Martin Armstrong '82 and the Armstrong Foundation, Gary T. Crum '69 and Sylvie P. Crum, Paul B. Loyd ’68 and Penny R. Loyd, and David B. Miller '72, '73 and Carolyn L. Miller and David B. Miller Family Foundation. 

They are joined by $1 million donors Kathryn H. Arata '87, '91 and Stephen L. Arata '88, Stephanie Chantilis Bray ’85 and Bennie M. Bray, Richard H. Collins '69 and the Calvert K. Collins Family Foundation, Jennifer Gelety Flanagan '82 and Martin L. Flanagan '82, G. Stacy and Ashley Smith, Katherine Harris Ware and Richard Ware ’68 and William J. Ware ’01, and Garry Weber ’58. Kyle D. Miller ’01 was honored with a $1 million gift made in recognition of his love of SMU Athletics.

Other major donors include Blake Bozman ’93 and Tara Snellbacher Bozman, Cathy Dewitt Dunn and Rogge Dunn ’79, Kate Dykes and Sonny Dykes, Irina Huemiller and Thomas L. Huemiller ’91, Ashlee Hunt Kleinert ’88 and Christopher W. Kleinert ’88, and Natalie Greene Stollenwerck ’64 and Tom J. Stollenwerck ’62, ’65. 

"Thanks to the incredible generosity of these donors, the SMU Indoor Performance Center will provide a stellar practice facility for our student-athletes," said Vice President for Development and External Affairs Brad Cheves. "It also will provide added value as a unique and convenient gathering area for students, faculty, alumni and community members."

The center will feature a turf football practice field, with overhead translucent panels and glass roll-up doors. The center also will include a training room and a fitness area.

“The SMU Indoor Performance Center will enhance student-athlete well-being and competitiveness through year-round access to a climate-controlled facility,"said Head Football Coach Sonny Dykes. "Kate and I are proud to support this game-changing facility."

The second floor will feature a recruiting lobby and lounge adjacent to an outdoor patio. In addition to practice, training and recruiting spaces, the center will include multipurpose spaces, such as the 4,000-square-foot Boulevard Club on the first floor, designed to accommodate banquets, presentations, meetings, social gatherings and campus and community events.

The red brick building will be constructed in a Collegiate Georgian architectural style, harmonious with SMU's traditional campus environment. For more information or to support the center, please visit SMU Indoor Performance Center.

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