OXFORD, Ohio — Plans to demolish Miami University’s Millett Hall and replace it with a complex on Cook Field were passed unanimously by the university’s board of trustees.
Students and staff protested the proposal ahead of the 9 a.m. board of trustees meeting.
The plan to build a multipurpose arena at Cook Field will move forward — at a price tag of around $242 million. University officials said the new facility will address space issues posed by Millett currently. It will also address systems operations and maintenance challenges currently faced at Millett.
Millett Hall, built in 1968, is nearly 60 years old at this point; according to the university, at least $175 million would be necessary to renovate the space and add the amenities, like a practice court and a dedicated volleyball court, that the Cook Field facility will have.
WATCH: Miami University Athletic Director David Sayler spoke about how he believes the plan will help the university
Miami University board unanimously passes plan to replace Millett Hall
Miami University senior Bri Fitzgerald told us she planned to be at the protest ahead of the trustee meeting, after helping to organize a survey where people on campus and in Oxford got to weigh in on the prospect of a new facility.
Fitzgerald said she’s not against the idea that the teams do likely need a new home.
“I can get behind the idea of a new arena as our sports teams become more successful, like our basketball team, and I support that,” Fitzgerald said.
She and others couldn’t, however, get behind the more than a quarter-billion-dollar debt that came with the university’s plan.
“That’s hundreds and hundreds of students’ tuition, like, total,” Fitzgerald said.
Senior Ashley Reynolds spoke at the board meeting Friday morning. She, too, said she was concerned about spending priorities.
“I actually came to Miami for a social justice major, which they have in recent years gotten rid of because they didn’t have the funding for it,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds said she feels the university is failing to prioritize funding students’ academics.
“If we don’t have the funds for my education, for our education, then we don’t have the funds for an arena,” Reynolds said. “Plain and simple.”
Others who oppose the project voiced their frustration about the lack of collaboration with students and staff.
The survey revealed that most respondents didn’t support placing a new facility on what’s now green space on Cook Field.
The plan has received backing from one associate professor on campus, Adam Beissel, who initially approached the idea of a new arena on campus with some skepticism.
Beissel studies projects like what’s now proposed on campus globally, and he told us he’s come around to support the project.
WATCH: We heard from people on both sides of the demolition debate ahead of the decision
$281 million demolition proposal receives pushback from Miami University students, staff
“I go into a lot of my work with a critical lens because the history of these things isn’t so great,” he said.
Beissel told us the Miami proposal has a sound plan and financial backing, and he said it’s necessary to replace the aging and antiquated Millett Hall.
“When Millett Hall was built, and it’s over 60 years old now, it was built when we had one major NCAA team. Now we have three,” he said.
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Beissel also said that Millett Hall has accrued tens of millions of dollars in deferred maintenance costs and isn’t up to modern ADA compliance.
We also spoke to athletic director David Sayler after the vote.
He said he believes the new arena will create more intrigue in the university and increase space for athletic programs.
“(Student athletes) should have access to get shots up or work on their day 24 hours a day if they want to, wherever it fits into their schedule, and this facility is going to allow us to do that,” Sayler said.
Sayler said an improved arena will also bring more opportunities for the university’s teams.
“One of the common refrains I hear from my counterparts at Dayton, Xavier and Cincinnati is that they don’t want to come to Millett because it’s a dump,” Sayler said. “Well, we’re fixing that, so they need to be in our gym.”
The chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education will now vote to approve the plans.
Sayler said he anticipates that decision could come as soon as Monday.