KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan University and Director of Athletics Dan Bartholomae have announced a partnership with Gensler Sports Design to develop a long-term facility master plan for the athletic department. 
 
"We are thrilled to be partnering with one of the world's leading Sports Design Architecture firms in Gensler Sports Design," Bartholomae said. "They have extensive experience in intercollegiate and professional facility design and are widely recognized as the industry's best.
 
"Our facility master plan will seek to prioritize efficient and thoughtfully planned upgrades that benefit our student-athletes, staff, donor and fans. We will identify priority projects throughout this process and equip our staff with conceptual design, cost estimates and planning timelines in order to position ourselves to mobilize quickly."
 
Gensler Principal and Global Director of Sports Ryan Sickman added: "Gensler is thrilled to partner with Western Michigan University on their Athletic Facilities Master Plan and looks forward to creating with them a plan for their facilities that enriches the student-athlete experience, provides first-class fan experiences, and that connects the community with all of the athletic programs for years to come."
 
This partnership includes several priorities: inclusivity, maximizing the student-athlete experience, fan experience and revenue generation opportunities, addressing inequities and competitive disadvantages, and the development of immediate priorities.
 
Inclusivity: Leadership Committees, Focus Groups and Visioning exercises will be broad-based to include important users and constituencies both inside and outside Western Michigan athletics. Head Coaches, University Partners and other constituents will have exclusive time with the planners and the plan will be reflective of the specific needs of WMU's athletic programs and the partnerships inherent on campus and in the community.

Student-Athlete Experience: All projects proposed by the plan will center on maximizing the experience student-athletes have on Western Michigan's campus. This includes maximizing student-athletes' time while utilizing facilities, and the availability of first-class competitive resources.

Fan Experience and Revenue Generation Opportunities: WMU seeks to collaborate with the community to provide energizing events and create a first-class and premium experience for fans. Additionally, WMU recognizes the need for facility development to serve its goal of generating revenue in new and creative ways.

Addressing Inequities and Competitive Disadvantages: WMU seeks to address gaps in facilities as identified in benchmarking across conference and Group of Five peers.

Development of Immediate Priorities: Planning will be administered in a manner that is flexible and provides an opportunity to immediately mobilize on key projects that have immediate department and philanthropic interest.
 
Gensler Sports Design will engage in a comprehensive conditions and space utilization analysis of athletic facilities prior to utilizing focus group discovery and feedback to propose concept designs and cost estimation for priority projects. It is anticipated this process will continue through the academic year with concept designs completed in Spring of 2023.