How Luther College Leveraged Our Creative Solutions to Convert a Long-Held Vision Into a New Home for Norse Athletics

The Project
For more than 25 years, we have worked with Luther College to shape their campus, completing projects ranging from academic buildings and residence halls to athletic and recreation facilities. A decade ago, that relationship led Luther to have us develop a design and preliminary cost estimate to transform Regents Center, their primary athletic facility built in 1963, into an inviting, state-of-the-art home for their 20 Norse athletic teams.

Bringing that vision to life would take time. But significant financial gifts from the Gerdin and Birkstrand families, both Luther alumni, ultimately gave the school the ability to move forward in 2024, and they again turned to us to make the transformation a reality.

The Challenge
Getting the long-planned project underway meant finding a way to make an original renovation budget work 10 years after it had been established. Construction costs had increased significantly during that time and Luther’s athletic programs and their needs had continued to evolve. We needed to reconsider the original design to determine where Luther’s resources would have the greatest impact without losing sight of the experience the college had spent years working toward.

“We had been working toward this project for years, so when we were finally in a position to move forward, we wanted to make the most of that opportunity,” said Renae Hartl, Luther’s former athletic director and current head softball coach. “We knew a lot had changed since the original plan was developed, but what hadn’t changed was our vision for creating an exceptional experience for our student-athletes. The challenge was figuring out how to deliver on that vision within the realities of the project we had in front of us.”

One of those realities was space. The renovation was largely confined to the existing 200,000-square-foot building, yet a key design priority was to go from just two locker rooms shared among all sports to 20 locker rooms tailored to the needs of each Norse athletic team, with flexibility for future program growth. Modern training, rehabilitation and other athlete support functions also had to fit within spaces designed decades earlier.

Schedule presented another layer of complexity because the construction couldn’t simply take over Regents Center all at once. Because college athletic schedules are established well in advance, Luther had commitments they needed to honor. Preliminary construction began in August 2024, but the main gym still needed to support the 2024–25 volleyball and basketball seasons. Locker rooms and other spaces similarly could only be taken offline when the teams using them could accommodate it.

Meeting those commitments required design and construction to move forward in tandem through three design phases and five construction phases, all carefully coordinated around Luther’s athletic calendar.

The Solution
We revisited the original plan to preserve the elements that would make a meaningful difference for Luther’s student-athletes while finding more economical or efficient solutions where additional investment offered little benefit.

Within the existing building, that meant making better use of both space and systems. An oversized laundry and equipment room was reduced to less than half its previous footprint and reorganized with a rail system, improving operations while freeing space for an enhanced health and wellness area. In the arena, we determined that ductwork running through the original joist system remained serviceable and retained it rather than spending resources to replace it.

Separate funding also gave Luther the opportunity to replace their dark and undersized wrestling space with a new 10,200-square-foot wrestling training and competition complex. Rather than simply use available parking for the addition, we saw an opportunity to solve another issue at the same time. Luther wanted visitors to stop using the former main entrance on the south side of the building and instead arrive through a new 5,787-square-foot north lobby showcasing Norse athletic achievements. We proposed building the wrestling addition at the old entrance, eliminating that entry point and naturally redirecting visitors to the new lobby. That location also connected the wrestling complex directly to the new locker room areas.

While those design decisions helped address budget and space constraints, our integrated design-build approach was equally important to managing when and how the work could happen. With our design and construction teams working together, we could quickly evaluate changing conditions, adjust designs and sequencing and keep work moving as different areas of the facility became available. Luther’s athletic calendar became the framework for the five construction phases.

Weekly design meetings and regular coordination with Luther’s athletics and facilities teams kept upcoming practices, competitions and facility needs aligned with construction, allowing us to adjust the sequence as the project progressed.

Noted Hartl, “With a project this complex, we knew there would be decisions we couldn’t anticipate at the outset. What mattered was having a team that understood what was most important to Luther and could quickly bring us options when something changed. We never felt like we were choosing between keeping the project moving and making the right decision for our student-athletes.”

The Result
Completed in April 2026, the Gerdin Fieldhouse for Athletics and Wellness added 15,787 square feet of new space while dramatically transforming the existing Regents Center. The completed facility includes a new wrestling complex and public lobby as well as 20 new locker rooms for Luther sports teams and two for visiting teams, enhanced training and rehabilitation facilities, meeting and study spaces and a reimagined and renovated basketball and volleyball arena.

“Regents Center served Luther well for decades, but our programs had outgrown what the facility could provide,” said Hartl. “Gerdin Fieldhouse feels completely different. It gives our student-athletes spaces designed around how they train, compete and come together as teams, and it creates an experience that better reflects the pride surrounding Norse Athletics.”

A decade after the vision first took shape, Luther had the modern athletic facility they had worked years to make possible. The long-planned transformation gave their athletic programs a facility that meets the needs of student-athletes today, provides flexibility for future program growth and strengthens the environment Luther can offer prospective student-athletes as they compete to recruit and retain talent.

• More about Luther College Gerdin Fieldhouse