Jan. 19, 2005

Retired associate athletic director Tom Kelly (blue jacket) led the tour through the new facility. This is a look at what will be the equipment storage room. One of the features of 'The Gug' (pronounced 'Goog') is the privacy for the football team. This hallway will be accessible to members of the team, the coaching staff and the support staff only. One look at the spacious practice-week locker room, which will hold a number of televisions for the football team to relax and watch film. Note the open area in the middle, which will allow the team to gather for informal meetings.

Another view of the huge practice-week locker room. Here is a picture at what the lockers will look like when completed. The drawers at the bottom will have shoe warmers - enabling the players to dry off their spikes after a wet practice. One of the large team meeting rooms for the football program. It can be split in two by a partition, if needed.

A first look at the huge athletic traning space that will be used by all 26 varsity sports at Notre Dame. Note one of the two swim exercise pools to the right (covered by a blue tarp). Another look at the athletic training area - the offices on the right will be for the training staff. A third look at the training area, with more office space on the back wall.

A view of the main staircase heading upstairs to the coaches offices. A reception area will control access to the stairway. Even though this picture is a bit dark, it gives some idea of what the recruiting lounge will look like. The room will serve as a gathering place for recruiting weekends and a reception area for football game days. An up-close look at the recruiting lounge window which, when completed, will provide a view of the Administration Building (Golden Dome) and the Hesburgh Memorial Library (with the Word of Life Mural - also known as 'Touchdown Jesus').

A 150-seat auditorium will be situated in the center of The Gug for use by the entire athletic department. The seats have been designed with football players in mind. A view of the front entrance/public entrance to the Gug. This is a view from the balcony off the recruiting lounge. This portion of the weight room was the first part of the building that has been completed. Note the wall on the right which will eventually not exsist and open into the area in the next picture.

A continuation of the weight room is shown here (the previous picture would be through the wall on the right in this photo). This will serve as the strength coaches offices (on the left wall) and will also hold a three-lane track for speed workouts and a 40-yard Prestige Turf athletic surface for team workouts.

The Guglielmino Athletics Complex is beginning to take shape. Construction continues on the $21.25-million Don F. and Flora Guglielmino Athletics Complex which will adjoin the west side of the Loftus Center.

A 95,840-square-foot facility, it will house the football locker rooms, offices and meeting rooms, as well as provide Notre Dame's 800 student-athletes with enhanced space for training and sports medicine, strength and conditioning programs, and equipment. The designer/builder on the project is McShane Construction of Chicago, and construction will be completed in the fall of 2005.

This photo gallery gives a rough idea of what the final building will look like. Construction is expected to be completed on August 1, 2005.

The center has been underwritten with a gift from the late Don F. Guglielmino and his wife, Flora. A longtime supporter of Notre Dame, Guglielmino attended the University in the 1939-40 academic year and previously made gifts to the Notre Dame Club of Los Angeles scholarship fund, the University's Institute for Church Life, and the football program. He was recognized as an honorary alumnus in 1996 and was inducted into the Notre Dame National Monogram Club after his death May 31, 2001. He is survived by Flora and their three children.

Photos by Alan Wasielewski.