An architectural rendering of a $17 million area that will house the Indiana Unversity volleyball and wrestling programs was approved by the IU Board of Trustees at a meeting in South Bend. The 45,000-square-foot building will seat 3,000 and is expected to be completed in September 2018. Courtesy photo
SOUTH BEND — The Indiana University Golf Course is getting a makeover.
Exactly what the course will look like hasn’t been determined, but the IU Board of Trustees gave the go-ahead for this and several other plans, including the design for a new volleyball and wrestling arena, at its meeting Friday on the South Bend campus.
The golf course renovation was necessitated by plans to build a new hospital and regional academic health center where the course’s driving range is now located. But IU’s Vice President for Capital Planning and Facilities Tom Morrison made it clear during a presentation to the board that upgrades have been needed for quite some time.
When the course was built in the woods north of what is now the Ind. 45/46 Bypass, trees were clear cut without consideration for drainage. Over time, depressions have formed and erosion has created areas of exposed limestone. Disease and invasive species have killed hundreds of trees throughout the course, Morrison said.
The $12 million renovation plan will use the area’s natural drainage features to minimize the need for man-made irrigation as much as possible. Grass that can survive with limited water will be planted, as well as new trees.
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