Construction of the new Thornton Center for Academic Excellence appeared to be on target on Thursday, with crews already having completed much of the work for the top two stories. The project is scheduled to be complete in May, giving the school plenty of time to prepare for the fall semester.
As Tom Jurich, vice president of athletics, recently noted, the Center is being built from the top down, with the upper floors added first. The building design will allow a walkthrough on the ground floor for fans entering the stadium for football games.
In addition to providing state-of-the-art academic facilities, the addition will enhance the University of Louisville’s football complex. The Center is, in fact, an integral part of Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, connected into the south end of the facility.
One has to acknowledge that the video board with all the advertising atop the existing stadium may detract from the Center’s overall appearance. But it shouldn’t distract athletes from their studies inside the structure.
Funding for the $14.5 million, 40,000-square-foot facility included a $3 million gift from Thornton’s, which also raised an additional $3 million with matching gifts for fans — along with $2.5 million from Maker’s Mark and $2 million from the law firm of Stites and Harbison.