Colgate Shares Final Carey Center Details

By Rebecca Taurisano July 16, 2025

Colgate University unveiled finalized plans this month for the Carey Center, a modern campus athletic facility that will serve as the new home for Colgate’s Division I athletics teams. Named in honor of Trustee Emeritus Chase Carey ’76, the Carey Center will replace the outdated Reid Athletics Center, bring together multiple athletic functions into one building, and offer new spaces for performance, training, athletic administration offices, and community gathering.

The project reflects Colgate’s commitment to enhancing the student-athlete experience. The Carey Center design evolution — shaped through zoning reviews, discussions with coaches and student-athletes, site approvals, and the relocation of some campus operations — marks a significant step forward for Colgate athletics. Construction is set to begin later this year.

The naming of the facility recognizes the primary part of a $25 million gift from Carey; his wife, Wendy; and their children, Steve ’12 and Tara ’13. This project is also supported by the significant philanthropic investment of several additional donors to provide funding for spaces that will benefit all 25 Division I athletics teams.

“Colgate athletics are uniquely important to the University — it is where student-athletes learn the value of teamwork, discipline, and commitment while building lifelong friendships, and where the broader community of alumni, faculty, staff, and friends unite in a shared pride that defines the Colgate spirit,” said Carey. “Our family is proud to help ensure this facility will be worthy of the legacy and future of Colgate athletics.”

As the Carey Center plan has evolved, key priorities have remained the same, namely to house multiple athletic and University-wide functions. The athletics facility will also provide a space to host University events, concerts, and visiting campus speakers. Robert A.M. Stern Architects and Grace Design Studios have partnered with Colgate to develop the current design.

The University’s buildings and grounds operations, which currently occupy the future site of the Carey Center, will be relocated to a new facility at the southern end of Lebanon Street in Hamilton. Buildings and grounds operations will move into temporary locations beginning this fall while construction of that new facility begins, allowing work on the Carey Center to begin once the current buildings and grounds site is vacated.

Carey Center Features

A new 1,650-seat performance arena will be home to Colgate’s basketball and volleyball programs. In addition, a practice gym, locker rooms, and offices will fully house those championship-level programs.

The arena will feature one suite and two premium seating areas. It will have a center hung video board and a state-of-the-art lighting and sound system, as well as in-house video production capabilities for the video board and live event streaming.

The practice gym will be on the concourse level of the arena, making it an ideal space for pre- and post-event receptions for arena events.

Sports medicine and strength and conditioning staff at Colgate work together under the umbrella of sports performance, but currently those functions are split over multiple building locations, including Reid Athletic Center, Class of 1965 Arena, and Huntington Gymnasium.

A more modern strength and conditioning center in the Carey Center will be 75 percent larger than the current space in Huntington, allowing for larger teams to work out at once, as well as host more student-athletes throughout the day and evening, thus creating more efficiency and fewer demands on athletes’ time.

The Carey Center will be home to football program operations. Currently, football program activities are distributed among Reid, Huntington, and Sanford Field House. A football locker room, new offices, and meeting spaces will be located in the western wing of the Carey Center, creating a true football center that will be unique within the Patriot League and will better support football student-athletes.

Additional features in the Carey Center will include locker rooms, offices, and meeting spaces for field hockey and softball, a relocated and expanded academic center, a relocated and expanded nutrition area, a relocated Hall of Honor, multimedia and production spaces, and equipment spaces.

The performance arena will have a capacity of 1,650 seats.

New features include a weight room that can accommodate entire teams at once.

Both sports medicine and strength and conditioning will be housed together in a single location.

The Carey Center will feature new locker rooms for basketball, football, and other programs.

The relocated Hall of Honor will recall exceptional athletic achievements.

Student-athletes will benefit from an academic resource center.

The open, light-filled lobby of the Carey Center will welcome guests to the facility.

“Our teams are performing at the highest level in Division I athletics and our facilities need to both reflect and support that,” said Vice President and Director of Athletics Yariv Amir ʼ01. “This new athletics center will be bigger, better, and more effectively meet the needs of our student-athletes.”

Beyond the Carey Center construction, the future vision for the athletics neighborhood includes room for an outdoor green space and Raider Walk to form an athletics quadrangle, transforming the area into a cohesive athletics and recreational environment.

Recently, the University announced $105 million in gifts dedicated to the creation of a cohesive campus community along Broad Street, just steps from where the new Carey Center will sit.

“We are deeply grateful for the generosity of our Colgate community who are investing in the future of athletics and the student-athlete experience, particularly the Carey family for their remarkable lead gift,” said Vice President for Advancement Kim Harris. “The Carey Center anchors the University’s commitment to Division I athletics and provides the important physical spaces to support our continued success. At the same time, it provides an athletic through line to the robust academic and residential experience that is being realized along Broad and College Streets.”