New home for UBC Rugby ? UBC Public Affairs

Athletes and fans will enjoy the new home of University of British Columbia rugby teams at the $2.5 million Gerald McGavin Rugby Pavilion, announced today by Department of Athletics and Recreation and set to open in October 2012.

Located near West 16^th and East Mall on UBC?s Point Grey campus and overlooking the Arthur Lord and Frank Buck fields, the Pavilion will feature change rooms, offices, storage space, and bleacher seating for 300 spectators.

The Gerald McGavin Rugby Pavilion will benefit rugby, high performance sport and social life on campus with the addition of a much-needed clubhouse lounge for alumni, students and sport groups.

?Having this facility will showcase our sport,? says UBC men?s rugby general manager Spence McTavish.? ?More importantly, it will bring alumni and rugby fans together.?

The facility is named in honour of UBC Commerce alumnus (?60) Gerald McGavin, a member of the BC Rugby Hall of Fame who generously donated $800,000 towards the project.

?Some of my fondest memories from my athletic career come from playing rugby,? says McGavin.? ?I learned what it takes to work as a team, the value of sportsmanship, and at the same time, I forged relationships that lasted a lifetime.?This facility is the opportunity for the next generation of rugby players to do the same.?

The UBC Thunderbirds women?s rugby team kicks off its season on September 21, 2012 at UBC?s Wolfson Field. The men?s rugby season begins September 15, 2012.

Gerald McGavin is the Director and President of McGavin Properties Ltd., a Member of the Order of Canada, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Trust Companies Institute of Canada.? He has received the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award for Canada, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC, and the Queen?s Golden Jubilee Medal.

Initial financial and organizational leadership for the project is being provided by former UBC rugby players Peter Bull, Andrew Hamilton, Greg Obertas, Keith Spencer, Peter R. Mortifee, Donald Carson and family, Rob McCarthy and Andrew Bibby.

Funding for the Gerald McGavin Rugby Pavillion includes:

• $1.6 million from private donors as part of UBC?s start an evolution campaign*
• $700,000 from UBC Athletics & Recreation
• $200,000 from the British Columbia Rugby Union as part of a 10-year partnership with UBC.

As an important community partner, the British Columbia Rugby Union will have access to the new pavilion and UBC fields for its youth, developmental, grassroots and high performance programs.

*This gift forms part of UBC?s start an evolution campaign, the most ambitious fundraising and alumni engagement campaign in Canadian history. For more information, visit http://startanevolution.ubc.ca.

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Related topics: alumni, athletics, opening, pavilion, rugby, start an evolution, studentlife, thunderbirds, UBC

Source: http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/2012/07/31/new-home-for-ubc-rugby/

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