Gerald Ratner Athletics Center

Ratner Athletics Center
a round brick building connected to two flat-surfaced buildings beyond a brick courtyard that has a bicyclist in it.
Ratner Athletics Center is located in Greater Chicago
Ratner Athletics Center
Ratner Athletics Center
Location in Chicago
Ratner Athletics Center is located in Illinois
Ratner Athletics Center
Ratner Athletics Center
Location in Illinois
Ratner Athletics Center is located in the United States
Ratner Athletics Center
Ratner Athletics Center
Location in United States
Full nameGerald Ratner Athletics Center
Location5530 South Ellis Avenue
Hyde Park, Chicago, Illinois 60637
Coordinates41°47′38.87″N 87°36′6.48″W / 41.7941306°N 87.6018000°W / 41.7941306; -87.6018000
OwnerUniversity of Chicago
Field size150,000 square feet (14,000 m2)
Construction
Broke groundOctober 28, 2000 (ceremonial groundbreaking)
OpenedSeptember 29, 2003 (opened)
October 11, 2003 (dedicated)
Construction cost$51 million
ArchitectCesar Pelli
Structural engineerOWP/P Structures
General contractorWalsh Construction Company, Inc.,
Tenants
University of Chicago men's basketball
University of Chicago women's basketball
University of Chicago men's volleyball
University of Chicago women's volleyball
University of Chicago wrestling
University of Chicago men's swimming & diving
University of Chicago women's swimming & diving
University of Chicago Athletics Department

The Gerald Ratner Athletics Center (colloquially, the Rat) is a $51 million athletics facility within the University of Chicago campus in the Hyde Park community area on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. The building was named after University of Chicago alumnus, Gerald Ratner.[1] The architect of this suspension structure that is supported by masts, cables and counterweights was César Pelli, who is best known as the architect of the Petronas Towers.

The Ratner Athletics Center was approved for use in September 2003. The facility includes, among other things: a competition gymnasium, a multilevel fitness facility, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a multipurpose dance studio, meeting room space, and athletic department offices. It serves as home to several of the university's athletic teams and has hosted numerous National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III regional and University Athletic Association conference championship events.

Located at the southwest corner of Ellis Avenue and 55th Street, the Ratner Center has an award-winning design that uses a complex external mast-and-counterweight system instead of interior support devices, allowing for large open-space areas inside the building. Cesar Pelli & Associates Inc. was credited as the design architect and OWP/P was the architect of record.[2]

  1. ^ "Crain's Chicago Business : Subscription Center". Chicagobusiness.com. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
  2. ^ "Gerald Ratner Athletics Center" (PDF). Modern Steel Construction. April 2004. Retrieved 2010-05-02.