McLeod Center (2004)

The university chose to fundraise for a new sports arena. Eldon Miller, former UNI men's basketball coach, stated a fund drive would be challenging, especially since the university was not seeking support from the Iowa General Assembly or to raising student fees. However, in July 2000, Clark and Mary McLeod made the then-largest donation ever given to UNI: $4 million that would be used to construct an athletics facility for the basketball, volleyball and wrestling teams. It was named the McLeod Center in honor of their gift. In December 2001, Betty McCoy made a donation in honor of her husband, Robert McCoy, general manager of the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier from 1952 to 1983. The basketball court was later named in his honor. Edward J. and Catherine Cassidy Gallagher also donated $500,000 to the project.

The total cost of construction of the arena was set at $18 million. It would be located south of the UNI-Dome and connected via a tunnel. The arena was expected to seat 6,100 people, with room for an additional 900 in floor seating. In August 2002, the firm of Herbert Lewis Kruse Blunck, Des Moines, was hired as the architect for the project. They worked with Crawford Architects of Kansas City. 

The university decided to combine the McLeod Center project with the proposed Human Performance Center. The two facilities would be considered one project in terms of fundraising and architectural design. As of April 2003, an estimated $15 million had been raised for the McLeod Center and $4.5 million for the Human Performance Center. The city of Cedar Falls allocated $1.5 million in landfill refund money to the project. In November 2003, the UNI Foundation announced major gifts from the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier ($100,000) and Greg and Lea Ann Saul ($150,000) that helped bring the amount of money raised to $17 million of the $18 million goal.

On November 12, 2003, the Board of Regents, on a 5-3 vote, gave final approval to begin construction on the McLeod Center. This close vote followed another close vote in the Regents Banking Committee. Those who voted in favor of the proposal cited strong private financial support for the project. Those who opposed the project said they believed proceeding with the facility, now projected to cost about $20 million, would send the wrong message to the public during difficult economic times, and would be a drain on resources in the future.

In December 2003, university officials announced they had reached their $18 million fundraising goal. They hoped to raise an additional $3 million to fund retractable seating, concert rigging for lighting and sound systems, a walkway to the Dome, a hospitality suite and an athletic hall of fame. A $500,000 donation from Wells Fargo contributed to that goal.

In February 2004, the Regents approved the sale of $10 million in bonds for McLeod Center construction. The bonds had a term of 20 years and an interest rate of 3.94%. Because some of the money raised from private sources was in the form of pledges, the bonds would be used to finance the project until the pledges were paid. Groundbreaking for the project took place on Homecoming weekend, October 9, 2004. President Robert Koob praised Eldon Miller, former men's basketball coach, for getting the project on track. President Koob said, "Eldon Miller went door to door. He was single-minded and focused" in getting support for the project, which was to be complete by fall 2006.

In October 2004, the university received six bids for the construction of the McLeod Center. Due to increased prices for steel, all bids were higher than expected. The university recommended acceptance of the low bid of $19.56 million from Cardinal Construction Company of Waterloo. Officials considered temporarily putting aside several amenities associated with the project, or trying to raise additional money, to make the project budget fit the amount of resources available. On November 4, 2004, the Regents approved a revised project budget of $22,843,199 for the McLeod Center. The construction site fence was installed on November 8, 2004. The center was still planned to be the home for the volleyball team and the men's and women's basketball teams as well as the performance site for the wrestling team. It would include a commissary kitchen and UNI Hall of Fame. The center also had the potential to be the site for school and community events such as concerts, exhibitions, and sports camps. 

In March 2006, the Board of Regents tabled a request from UNI to increase the project budget by $1.825 million, which would push the total budget over $26 million. The addition to the budget would be devoted to a scoreboard and a concession/commissary area. The Regents asked university officials to reconsider the financial arrangements for the scoreboard as well as the need for a complete kitchen set-up in the Center. The university planned to bring the matter back to the Regents in May 2006.

At their May 2006 meeting, the Regents approved an increase of $1.75 million to bring the budget for the project to about $26 million. The university would borrow money, to be repaid over 10 years, to pay for a scoreboard costing about $876,000. UNI officials stated advertising revenue from the scoreboard would generate enough income to pay off the loan. Officials also scaled back plans for a complete kitchen in the new facility. Instead, the university would purchase only the kinds of material and equipment necessary to properly store food. 

By August 2006, the project was nearing completion. On Saturday, November 18, 2006, the grand opening ceremony was held in the new McLeod Center before a football game in the Dome. The volleyball team played the first scheduled athletic activity on Saturday evening: UNI defeated Bradley University in three games to win the Missouri Valley Conference volleyball title. On November 19, the men's basketball team defeated the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 69-58. On November 20, the women's basketball team lost to Iowa State University in overtime, 80-74. On November 21, the wrestling team lost their first match in the McLeod Center to the University of Iowa, 18-15.

In September 2008, the university announced a gift from Peters Construction Company to build eight suites on the west side upper concourse of the McLeod Center. Dave Peters (industrial technology, ’78), president of Peters Construction Company, stated in an article in the Waterloo Courier, "My wife, Cindy, and I have been huge fans of Panther athletics and we realized this was a way to give back and see UNI athletics continue to grow." Each suite would seat 12-16 people and feature a hospitality area. Lease revenue from the suites was projected to bring in about $150,000 annually.

The McLeod Center remains a vital part of the campus, supporting university athletics and community events. For more information about the McLeod Center, visit https://unipanthers.com/facilities/mcleod-center/9.