Fans may tour Carver-Hawkeye Friday

Iowa Sports Information

The University of Iowa will dedicate the renovated Carver-Hawkeye Arena with tours and speakers Friday, Sept. 23. The event is free and open to the public.

The program will be held in the Feller Club Room beginning at 4 p.m. Building tours and a reception on the concourse will follow the program.

Scheduled speakers include UI President Sally Mason; UI Foundation President and CEO Lynette Marshall, UI Athletics Director Gary Barta; Hawkeye Women's Head Basketball Coach Lisa Bluder; Hawkeye Men's Basketball student athlete Matt Gatens; Matt Henderson, executive director of development for intercollegiate athletics at the UI Foundation; and UI alumnus and Iowa Falls businessman Dale Howard. In 2008 Howard and his wife, Marilyn, made a $3.5 million gift commitment for the project that has been recognized in the naming of the Dale and Marilyn Howard Family Pavilion.

Parking for the Sept. 23 event is available in Lot 75, south of Carver. Visitors may enter through the main entrance of the Dale and Marilyn Howard Family Pavilion on the west side of the building.

The $43 million project includes premium-seating opportunities, hospitality facilities, and updated office and meeting spaces.

The Dale and Marilyn Howard Family Pavilion is a four-story, 75,000-square-foot addition that features an 8,000-square-foot strength and conditioning center, two practice courts for women's and men's basketball and volleyball, locker rooms and modern office space for coaches and staff.

The arena, which hosts UI commencement ceremonies, lectures, concerts and other events in addition to athletic events, opened in 1983 and required updating to meet current needs.