Creighton University announced yesterday “Fly Together,” a nearly $300 million initiative to reshape a 12-block corridor on the east side of its campus. The transformative project will merge the campus with the $650 million Builders District, a 10-block urban development anchored by the Kiewit Corporation’s headquarters. Fly Together is an entirely donor-funded project bolstered by a $100 million gift from the Heider Family Foundation, the largest gift in university history.
Fly Together encompasses 11 new or upgraded facilities and outdoor spaces. Included in the plans are a new student fitness center, upgrades to the Rasmussen Fitness & Sports Center, a sports performance center for Creighton student-athletes, improvements to current athletics buildings, new team facilities for baseball and softball, and more improvements to existing space on the campus.
The investment is a clear statement from Creighton’s leadership on its ambitions to continue competing at the national level in athletics in a non-power conference that doesn’t benefit from billion-dollar TV rights deals.
“Creighton Athletics is on an upward trajectory, and to keep going in the right direction, we need to continue to invest in the things that matter,” Athletic Director Marcus Blossom said in a statement regarding the project. “Investing in this project will make us better. Investing in this project will, I believe, help us win and help us compete with some of the best programs in the country.”
Men’s basketball head coach Greg McDermott cited the challenges in recruiting that Creighton faces, saying they’re competing with programs “that have astronomical TV contracts providing support for their students. So how do we catch up? Where can we make up that difference? In addition to revenue-sharing, facility enhancements are one of the ways we can. When the Fly Together project is complete, Creighton’s facilities will be among the best of the best, keeping us competitive with the programs we’re going toe-to-toe with every day.”
This project will provide support for not only Creighton men’s basketball on the recruiting trail, but also the rest of the athletic department that has been nothing short of impressive in recent years, especially since the move to the Big East Conference. Creighton is the only school in the country to reach the Elite Eight in men’s soccer, women’s volleyball, men’s basketball and women’s basketball in the last four years.
Creighton Athletics has more in-depth details, including comments from additional university representatives and coaches, photos and video renderings of the project, and more on its website.
