A major gift by Elon trustee Jeanne Robertson and her husband Jerry will provide lead funding for a renovation project for Alumni Gym in Koury Center. The project will upgrade Elon's home for basketball and volleyball, convocations and other large campus events.
Included in the renovation are new seating; lighting, sound and video boards; coaches and staff offices; locker rooms; and a south entrance and outdoor plaza. The gym’s lower-level bleacher seating will be replaced with chair seats, with additional sections added on the north end of the gym to form a horseshoe bowl. At the south end of the gym, an upper-level “nest” seating area will be added behind the basketball goal.
In recognition of the Robertsons’ gift, the basketball floor in the gym will be named Robertson Court.
“We want to help maintain Alumni Gym as a first-class venue for campus events and a great facility for Phoenix sports,” Jeanne Robertson said. “We’re happy to have the opportunity to support this exciting project and to advance Elon’s athletic and cultural programs that are hosted in Alumni Gym.”
“Jeanne and Jerry Robertson are among the most loyal and generous supporters of Elon athletics,” says Dave Blank, director of athletics. “They rarely miss a men’s or women’s basketball game and they take a great deal of personal interest in the work of our student-athletes and coaches. Their gift demonstrates a remarkable commitment to the Phoenix and will make Alumni Gym a more attractive, comfortable and functional facility for the many uses of this key campus facility.”
Blank said the renovation will be a key step in preparing for Elon’s eventual construction of a large convocation center, as is envisioned in The Elon Commitment, the university’s 10-year strategic plan.
“An enhanced Alumni Gym will allow our programs to continue to grow and attract outstanding student-athletes and a larger fan base,” Blank said. “Stronger programs in a renovated facility will set the stage for realizing our dreams for a premier convocation center near the end of this decade.”
Blank says fundraising for the renovation will continue to provide the balance of the financing. Construction will start in May, with work projected for completion over the next two summers. Use of Alumni Gym during the academic year will not be affected.
The plan to create a new south entrance will return the gym to its original design. When the building opened in 1950, the main entrance was on the south end of the gym, including a ticket window and restrooms. The south entrance was closed when Alumni Gym underwent a major renovation in 1994 as part of the Koury Center construction.
The Robertsons’ son, Bailey “Beaver” Bowline, is a 1989 Elon graduate who played basketball during his college years. The Robertsons are long-time supporters of Elon’s athletics and made generous gifts in honor of their close friends, former athletics director Dr. Alan White and his wife Norma. In recognition of the Robertsons’ gifts, Elon’s Belk Track Complex includes Dr. Alan and Norma White Field and the North Athletics Complex includes Alan J. White Bell Tower.
