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UNLV basketball team will have home with Mendenhall Center
Rebels’ $11.7 million, 38,000-square-foot practice facility scheduled to open next fall
UNLV basketball coach Lon Kruger and players, from left, Karam Mashour, Justin Hawkins, Mike Moser and Carlos Lopez pose Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010, during a groundbreaking ceremony for the program’s UNLV Mendenhall Center.
Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.
Mendenhall Center Groundbreaking
The Rebel Room
Football winding down, hoops heating up at UNLV
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Ryan Greene, Ray Brewer and Case Keefer take a few minutes to talk about the continuing downward spiral involving the UNLV football team, and then switch gears to preview the highly-anticipated 2010-11 Rebels hoops season. The guys talk some self-made Vegas odds and who to keep an eye on this year.
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When the UNLV basketball team takes the court Thursday at the North Gym inside the McDermott Physical Education Building, it will be practicing at a fourth different location on campus in less than a week.
The Rebels, who will be working out for the sixth time, also have trained at the Thomas & Mack Center, Cox Pavilion and South Gym.
The Thomas & Mack is their home arena, but the team can’t practice there this week because the Professional Bull Riders World Finals are occupying the facility through Sunday. In December, the team will be displaced for nearly two weeks to accommodate the National Finals Rodeo.
Come next year, however, this won’t be a problem.
The UNLV Mendenhall Center, a 38,000-square-foot facility being constructed a rock’s throw from the Thomas & Mack, will open before official practices start next year.
It has two courts, a film room, academic classrooms, a strength and conditioning area, and a training room. More importantly for the Rebels, this state-of-the-art complex will be strictly for their use.
During a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for the facility — a ceremony with donors, high-ranking school officials and other community notables — it was four players lingering near the side of the gathering who arguably had the biggest smiles.
Sophomore Justin Hawkins, redshirt freshman Carlos Lopez, freshman Karam Mashour and sophomore Mike Moser each took a shovel and joined the group moving dirt in the ceremonial groundbreaking.
“It looks amazing. It’s a great opportunity for the team,” Lopez said. “I’m going to love to have a place of our own to practice.”
Longtime UNLV supporter Bob Mendenhall, owner of Las Vegas Paving Corp., combined with donors Maury Gallagher Jr., Bill Paulos, Bill Worthman and Hope Anstett to fund the $11.7 million project. No state or athletic department funds were used.
Mendenhall in March gave $7 million to the project.
“Those younger players. Those are the guys who will really appreciate what’s going on,” UNLV coach Lon Kruger said.
The players will have around-the-clock access to the facility. If someone wants to work on free-throw shooting at 10 p.m. in the middle of the summer, it will be as easy as driving to campus. Previously, players would have to find a coach or school official to open a building.
“This gives us a place to practice morning or night, rain or shine,” Hawkins said.
While the facility will be a huge asset to the current players, its biggest benefit will likely come during recruiting. It’s the type of complex seen at nationally respected schools and something expected to be a major selling point with recruits.
“This is the cat’s meow of practice facilities. It has everything, all of the bells and whistles,” said Jim Livengood, UNLV’s athletic director.
“It is very needed, very necessary and very here,” he added.
The construction, which is being handled by Mendenhall’s company, is scheduled to be completed next September. Until then, the players will continue setting up shop at one of four courts on campus.
“Our reward would be for the athletes and coaches to consider the facility a sort of home away from home,” said Paula Mendenhall, Bob’s wife, who spoke on behalf of the family at the groundbreaking. “We are convinced education is the mainstay of a civilized world.”
James Dean Leavitt, the chairman of the Board of Regents, said the complex would help enhance the program’s image. He couldn’t hide his enthusiasm when talking about the longtime benefits.
“Athletics are the gateway to the university,” Leavitt said. “It’s how we introduce the university to the rest of the nation and the rest of the world.”
Discussion: 37 comments so far…
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Can't wait to see the facilities after they are built. From the look of the picture they missed the actual build site by about 150 feet, but hey there's already a large hole in the ground so I suppose they couldn't do it there.
Good luck this year!
This is a good way for Kruger to leave his mark. Tark had the Thomas &Mac built. Also I wish all regent member looked at sports that way because it was the biggest selling point for me to go to school there.
Rofl: "This is the cat's meow of practice facilities."
What does that even mean?!?!
UNLV is cutting entire academic departments and Nevada Sate College may cease to exist, but at least the basketball team has nice digs.
@ bgrebs, did you even attempt at reading any of the articles on the Mendenhall center? 100% privately funded. No state monies used.
@ bgrebs
1) You might want to suggest removal of your own post on your own account. You. are. an. idiot.
2) Even if State money was used: I guess you've never heard of investing? The more revenue mens basketball brings in per season the less money the University has to spend on the basketball program. It's called thinking. Look it up.
Thanks for coming out, though.
Wow!! This is awesome, great for the university and the rebels. I recently toured campus and was amazed at how much they have done . The state of the art library and sports center ( for students only no team use)are incredible. Thank you Mr. Mendenhall and others for giving the team a stable place to thrive and become better , to help in recruiting and in UNLVs climb back into the national forefront. No more sharing or looking for a place to practice in your own gym. kudos!!
On Another note, I would just like to chime in with how well the team looked at first look. They look dedicated and hungry something lacking the past 2 seasons. Bigger.. stronger.. more agressive, i like it all. I see Anthony playing 3 postions to keep him on the floor more and give him the minutes.
I would like to see the following line-up at some point as it would cause matchup problems:(ei: length, speed, hieght, physical)
pg- Jasper
2g- Anthony
sf/g- Mashour
f- Stanbeck
c/f- Thomas
p.s. Mashour wil be (not yet) amazing and go pro. He has such good team and help instincts and is athletic as well. Get your autographs now rebel fans as he might not be here all 4 years..
@reagan & fakin' So true in your response to bgrebs. People don't realize how much publicity and attention the school, let alone the city, got from the basketball championship-even though it has been 20 years. We have to ensure that the needs of the athletes are met if we are to compete on a national level, both in athletics and academics. Most of these people who poo-poo the use of these funds tend to be liberal idiots who can't think out of their own box and only see the world through their own pathetic little universe!
bgrebs opinion shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.
There's always been anger and resentment at the basketball program's success at UNLV.
It was true in Maxson and Harter's day and probably still true today.
Some faculty and admins will always resent the money and attention that basketball attracts to UNLV.
"Athletics are the gateway to the university," Leavitt said. "It's how we introduce the university to the rest of the nation and the rest of the world."
And it's why UNLV will always be known as a basketball-lovin' party school and not a top-flight university. I'm not telling Mendenhall or his pals how to spend their money, but $11.7m would go a long way toward making this a better ACADEMIC institution. We all know how little interest there is in educational achievement in Las Vegas and Nevada as a whole, as shown by our 45% high school dropout rate. Yet people want to blame unions, liberals and immigrants for the lack of decent-paying jobs. If you were a tech company CEO looking to expand, would you choose Las Vegas, where barely half of kids graduate high school? Would better basketball facilities influence your decision? Do you think Raleigh-Durham or San Francisco are science and technology hubs because UNC and Cal have good sports teams?
Oh so I guess unlv now needs to worry about Nevada state college as well.
@ bgrebs
Stop it... just stop making yourself look like an uninformed idiot.
The Mendenhall Family has done more than enough make UNLV a better academic institution. The family donated a considerable amount of money to the College of Engineering.
You can read about it below:
http://www.unlv.edu/foundation/casestudi...
UNLV is a young institution. For only being around for 50 years we've made great strides in academia. We have programs that are nationally competitive, and some that need work. But it's like one of my professors said: the top 15% of students could go anywhere, the middle 70% could be at almost any state university and should be in college. It's the bottom 15% that everyone gets stuck on. But you're going to have that in any state university. And the basketball team helps to recruit good students. When we went to the Sweet 16 in 2007, the applications increased remarkably the next year. Sit in a class at UNLV and you'll be able to see that the intelligence and love for school is there.
Keep digging your own grave bgrebs and you may end up in China. Ignorance is bliss I suppose.
Ya know what I think of when I hear UNC? Basketball. They have had arguably one of the best programs in the game. Ya know what alumni often do after they graduate? They donate back to their institution. Ya know what they do while they are students at that university? They go to sporting events and take pride in their respective teams. The term "what goes around comes around" comes to mind. If UNLV can get some future alumni interested in the basketball program, maybe after they graduate and become the next Fortune 500 CEO that graduated from the College of Business they might consider giving a gift to the campus.
A University is not going to turn down a more than generous gift, if someone wants their money to go toward a certain program, they are entitled to that.
So, with all that said, put YOUR money where your mouth is and donate some money towards the College of Liberal Arts and help graduate some teachers out of UNLV with better services and support to teach which will in turn increase the graduation rateof NV students.
Forget acedemics, forget sports, forget all of that. One of the big things here is that, yet again, UNLV is taking away valuable parking space for its students, RAISING the parking fees, and not allowing anyone but basketball players to use the facility. When basketball season is in, fine. But to tell a paying student that they DON'T have the right to use a facility that they help maintain with their funds is ridiculous.
Nothing like pissing on the majority to please a select few.
This is strictly a practice facility? I was hoping it could hold games too. Also have it built somewhere else on campus so we don't have to go to the Orleans for games and more home games during the Rodeo.
But other that that...I LOVE IT! Thanks Lon for getting us on the track on building the program back.
Annual parking permit at UNLV runs $125.00 http://parking.unlv.edu/costs.html
Annual parking permit at ASU runs $780.00 http://cfo.asu.edu/pts-permit-locations-...
I dont think thats a real issue considering books run $500 to $800 a semester
@ Hunter, I don't think they got rid of any parking spots, and even if they did they JUST BUILT the new Tropicana Parking Garage right there, adding hundreds of spots.
@ 2inthewater, the facility wont be big enough to hold an audience from what I can tell...
I'm excited about this! Sofa makes a good point, sporting teams build school pride, which in turn makes alumni want to give back to their school.
Complaining about parking is the most ridiculous argument ever. There is ample parking off campus on residential streets that are FREE. As reb4life pointed out, we have the cheapest parking passes of any real university if you want to park on campus.
I went to UNLV from 2002 to 2009, and saw many parking spots disappear, but realized that they were all for space to build NEW STATE OF THE ART BUILDINGS!!!! New amazing library; New Student only (non athlete) 5 story gym; LEED Certified Greenspun Building; New Mendenhall Engineering Building; New Dorms, New Student Union (If you remember the old one it was pathetic); and now New Basketball practice facility. Its a logical order of development.
We have improved our infrastructure dramatically in the past 10 to 12 years. Developing our basketball department, which is our most nationally recognized sports of our school, will increase our exposure. We are facing some troubling times right now, but the school needs to look long term, and the economy will cycle back.
UNLV has the most parking at any intercity university I have seen, and the parking fees are actually very reasonable if you compare them to other colleges. reb4life mentioned ASU's parking, but even if you pay for it, trying to find spots to park at on the ASU campus is still difficult. I have heard more people complain about the roads and parking in Las Vegas than anywhere else, and it has the BEST roads, and plenty of parking. Laziest people I ever met. Try walking a little, or taking the bus for a chance like any other major city.
By the way, now is the BEST time to build anything whilst prices are low, and people are looking for construction jobs.
Some of these comments are just proof that no matter what, some people will find reason to complain.
It's worth noting that having good sports programs is one of the easiest way for a state university to raise additional non-public funds. Being fans of a sports team can keep alumni interested in the university after they graduate in a way academics can't.
Great, this is the guy putting up barricades all over town and screwing up traffic. Ever see anybody actually working on these roads?
Obama makes him rich with tarp money, but we get it back in the form of a basketball court named after him.
Alright, so, they ARE removing parking spots. I know, I know, most of you don't care because you say there are plenty of spots to park on the street. But, I'm willing to bet none of you have walked to a class in 120 degree weather with a 40 pound backpack on.
It's easy to discard this when you don't have to be the one burdened with it. "It's OK. Just let the kids handle it".
I could also care less what ASU's parking is. It's like comparing the current price of grapefruit with cactus water. Just because the parking is cheaper ar UNLV, suddenly it's acceptable to take it away?
The parking structure on Trop was indeed just created, but not to "create" parking spots as claimed earlier, but to REPLACE only SOME of the spots lost when they built the new gym (kudos, beautiful facility) as well as the new engineering building on the other side. If they really wanted to "create" parking spots, they'd make the entire parking lot at the Thomas and Mack a 3 level parking structure. The point is, UNLV does just barely enough to maintain what they have, with regards to parking, while trying to increase student population which would obviously increase the burden on the current system.
Yes, UNLV has made remarkable improvements to the campus facilities. Amazing. Beautiful. But, they also jack up all of the facility fees in order to pay for it, so the students ARE the ones paying for it. Great. No problem. If I reap the benefits, I should pay, right? This new facility may have been donated, but my earlier point was that it is maintained by current students, and should be able to be accessed by them, as well. A 38,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility that can only be accessed by 12 basketball players and the coaches, year round? ABSURD!
If we rely on sports programs to increase revenue and admissions, SHAME ON US! This is an institution of higher learning. Let's build a medical scool. Let's build a Bio-pharmacutical research facility. Let's build SOMETHING that will encourage students from all over the U.S. that UNLV is the place they want to come for a high quality education! As I do want our sports teams to be victoriuos, I realize that if we lose every game in order to improve our acedemic achievements, then that's the way it is.
We need to build a stronger academic foundation. I simply don't care if our QB threw for 400 yards and 5 touchdowns if we can't maintain and improve acedemic excellence.
I am a recent UNLV graduate. I've used the facilities, I've struggled to find the parking, I've been to sports outings, I've paid the facility fees, I've supported the movement to retain quality instructors. I'm certainly not out of touch as to the current situation. I would just like to aspire to be BETTER. Improve yourself! Learn something new! Volunteer! Make the UNLV community something GREAT! Build the foundation upon the academic community, not sports.
@Hunter
If you truly want to be an academic leader and provide the best programs in the nation you can not charge in the lower 20% of tuition in the nation. If you want new parking, new facilities .. lets raise tuition to match those schools you are inspiring to be like. I think for the dollar value UNLV is one of the best options around with all its new added departments. You simple can't go to MIT at a community college price. That being said, I do wish them to continue pushing UNLV into the future academically. I think this project is something that will in the end benefit the university as a whole
I see road work all the time, They are repaving Eastern near the 215, and its pretty fast. The road projects that have been started and completed in the past decade put other states to shame. Since I moved here 8 years ago, they have completed the 215 loop, 95/215 connection, Blue Diamond all the way out to red rock, countless other roads, and how about that new engineering marvel of a bridge that will shave 45 mins off a drive to arizona. We have some the best roadways in america.
Want a terrible state for roads, try Alabama or Georgia.
@ Hunter, You said "But, I'm willing to bet none of you have walked to a class in 120 degree weather with a 40 pound backpack on."
I'll bet on that because when I attended UNLV I parked either on the street or in the free lot every day. I never paid for a student parking pass my entire tenure at UNLV.
Just because YOU don't care about athletics doesn't mean everyone doesn't care. Personally, I care about the basketball program as it gives pride to the university. I did all the things you have for the university including budget cut rallies, campus meetings, town hall meetings, paid my fees, etc.
In no way can I see the Mendenhall center as a detriment to the University. It's only making it better. The team needs a facility they can focus on their performance and athletic abilities. Keep in mind UNLV is still growing rapidly. 28k students is HUGE. You mention MIT, well they are about $50k a year in tuition, and only have about 10k students (mostly postgrad).
@hunter, I've been going to UNLV for 4 years now and the only issues I've had with parking in the T&M parking lot were during PBR or NFR weeks. They only took out 3-4 rows of parking which amounted to probably ~60 non-handicap student spots. With the new parking garage we still have more spots now then before the gym and this new facility were built. Your parking argument is just plain wrong, and also irrelevant considering you're no longer even a student.
If the state really wants UNLV to improve academics then they would up the entry requirements, add more funding to hire better faculty, and invest in better research facilities. Don't blame athletics programs for problems that they have no part in and are actually contributing to fix through revenues and university publicity.
If you honestly think the job of a state university is solely to provide students with higher education then you're naive and ignorant beyond the scope that can be addressed through Internet comments.
@ Hunter
I've been going to UNLV for 3 1/2 years now, I used to park at the cottage grove parking structure without a problem. I now am employed at a campus department that allows me to park there, which is off campus. I walk with all my books across Maryland Parkway to all ends of the campus, even during summer classes. It really is not that bad considering it saves me $100+ every year.
As stated before, UNLV has added numerous new academic facilities over the past several years. You cannot fault a private donor for wanting to give a very generous gift to our basketball program. The Mendenhall family has also given generous gifts to initiate programs in the School of Engineering. Our university is on its way to becoming a nationally respected name in the world of academia, but we are a fairly young university.
i wish someone would donate to the Art Department. they are still using the first building every made at unlv. asbestos and all. i have a mind to call OSHA or whoever to come and condemn the building, maybe then they would build a new one.
So many of you are misinterpreting my comments. I'm NOT against a new facility being built. My main gripe is that there are a select few that gain access to a facitlity that is maintained by student funds. If someone wants to donate the money to build a structure, great! Just don't tell me as a student that I can't access something that my facility fees help pay for. Someone earlier also made a comment about the student athletes not being able to access the new gym. That's such a ridiculous, idiotic comment, I'm not exactly sure how to respond. So, I wont.
It's also amazing (not really, there are always idiots who spout off at the mouth) that someone would talk about ignorance while implying something that wasn't stated. Congratulations! You just made yourself look like someone who only made it halfway through your degree before dropping out.
So, should UNLV raise the tuition costs and increase standards for entry? It's sure easy to say, but much harder to implement. It is especially difficult when this state consistantly vote Republican leadership into the Governor's office (with regards ONLY to academia). How on earth can UNLV, or any state insitution, plan on raising more funds in a feasible manner when all Republican Governors want to do is balance the budget by cutting educational funding? That might actually be even an unfair statement because I'm not sure how a Democrat in that position could fund it. My point is that you can wish and hope and pray all you want, but if there is no way to raise the funds without crippling the current system, it simply will not work.
I especially loved the above mentally impaired commenter about my comment and "irrelevant" considering I'm not a student. Just because I said I'm a recent graduate, doesn't mean I'm not still taking classes to further my education. I know, I know; the world revolves around your views. It's just unfortunate that you couldn't see your schooling through the entire way to get a full education, instead of dropping out. But, hey, that's why the First Ammendment is there: to protect your silly views.
UNLV sports are fantastic. Let's try to improve upon the way we play, but never lose sight of the bigger picture: Quality education.
The new student gym is not reserved for student athlete's. You wont respond to that comment because why?!?! If you ever were at UNLV before the new gym, the McDermott Complex was pathetic, and things like the WEIGHT ROOM and BASKETBALL courts were routinely reserved for student athletes. I was a student back then, and we had to share every thing with all the student athletes. Its nice to have a brand new facility that is not reserved for mainly athletic use.
And someone correct me if Im wrong, but I was under the impression that a separate fund was set up to take care of the maintenance costs for at least the next 10 years. If thats true, then you wont pay any facility fee's, but you will reap the rewards for years to come.
Runnin_Rebel08
Yes, you are correct about a fund being set up to cover maintenance cost.
HunterMG
Why in the world would students want/need access to the new facility? The SRWC has two multi purpose courts on the first floor and four basketball courts on the third floor.
I guess I am just missing your point.
From what I understand the facility will have a balcony/terrace where fans will be able to watch the team practice from. What more can you ask for?
On a side note,
I would like to thank the Mendenhall Family for their generous gift to our university.
@hunter
I'm sorry that my comments made you so angry, to the point where you tried to personally attack me, but seriously you don't have a lot of facts to back up your statements. Therefore, you come off as just another complainer, crying about anything and everything.
Since your funding and parking arguments fell flat, you're now complaining about your facility fees. Are you able to use the cox pavilion? The football practice facility? The baseball field? The softball field? The soccer field? Are you able to access many of the private labs that are used by various colleges on campus? The point is this is one of many specialized facilities that you don't have access to use. If you don't like your fees going to maintain these facilities then you're welcome to go somewhere else. It's a shame that you have nothing better to do than try to find negatives in something many people see as a great positive for the university and the basketball program.
By the way, I'm graduating in December and am already accepted in a master's program at UNLV. So sorry another one of your statements was incorrect. Go away. :)
Hunter,
The SRWC has a very nice state of the art indoor basketball facility, along with just about everything else you could imagine i.e. swimming, racquetball, etc. All of these things are accessible to students. I attended UNLV in the early 90s...do you know what we had to use as the 'gym' and 'basketball' centers? The hole in the north gym which sported a 200sf weight room with no weights and a broken cycle machine.
Your complaining strikes me as 100% dishonest. I believe you know about these current options at the SRWC, yet you intentionally single this issue out because you are personally butt-hurt over the fact that athletic income play such an important role.
And your complaining about the parking is quite simply, ignorant. You clearly have ZERO perspective and have never been to a big state university before where students have to park MILES from their class. Seriously man...get a life.
LIGHTS PLEASE!!!!!!!!!