Twin Cities / Metro
*This archived article was originally published in Fall 2003.
McNamara Alumni Center
Minnesota-themed décor, ample meeting space and plentiful parking make this venue a perfect gateway to the University of Minnesota.
BY MONICA WRIGHT
For decades, the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis felt it had no front door. Alumni and visitors checking out the campus parked somewhere throughout the 17.5 million square feet the campus occupies and were then left to fend for themselves to find buildings, events – even their own children.
Throughout that time, the University’s Alumni Association was fighting to build just such a gateway. Beginning in 1956, the association started working on giving alumni a space of their own as well as a spot to welcome visitors. Throughout the years, plenty of ideas were tossed out, including a proposal for a complex that would contain an alumni center, office tower, hotel, and administrative offices to building an alumni center in conjunction with the Weisman Art Museum. Neither came to fruition, and it wasn’t until 1997 that ground was finally broken on what would become the McNamara Alumni Center, officially opening in 2000.
Today, the center is a tribute to all things Minnesotan. Architect Antoine Predock designed the 231,000 square foot building to reflect the state’s natural landscape: the 75,000 feet of copper that covers the building’s exterior echoes the Iron Range, the six miles of wood lining the interior represents the state’s north woods, an indoor water display symbolizes the 10,000 lakes that dot Minnesota’s landscape and the streaking windows along the geode-like structure are a reminder of the beautiful Northern Lights.
In keeping with its theme, the alumni center welcomes rentals of its six meeting rooms, which offer 12,500 square feet of exhibit space, banquet capacity for up to 500 and state of the art audiovisual equipment. But according to Amy Schroeder, events manager for the alumni center, these aren’t the first things most planners think of when they hear about the location. "There’s a stigma being on a college campus, especially about accessibility and a lack of parking," said Schroeder. "We’re on the eastern-most end, not buried in the center of this campus, and we have an adjacent 500-car ramp. So we’re trying to overcome the way people think and the stereotypes that go along with being a venue on a college campus."
Anyone familiar with the University of Minnesota knows one of the main stigmas associated with the school is parking – the lack of it. The alumni center is the exception, though, with two ramps attached by either skyway or tunnel, leading attendees directly into the building. Even when other University activities like hockey games or graduations make the campus a veritable sea of cars, Schroeder said parking is never an issue. "When planners book us, we anticipate their concerns and needs. We don’t blindside them a week before their event with, ‘there’s a hockey game across the street – the same time as your event.’ We don’t like surprises anymore than clients do," said Schroeder.
One aspect the University alumni center does cultivate is the energy that comes with being part of a Big Ten campus. "We don’t see that as a negative," said Schroeder. "In fact, event guests enjoy the college campus environment." Plenty of U-related artifacts are preserved within the Heritage Gallery, including books published by professors, interactive displays about famous former students and a timeline of the University’s history. The most notable relic is the preserved original entranceway to the now-demolished Memorial Stadium where the Gophers used to play football – and the site on which the alumni center now sits.
Features like the arch and the 85-foot tall ceiling inside Memorial Hall have made the alumni center a popular destination for a variety of events ranging from weddings and business meetings to banquets and receptions. Jane Brattain, a parent volunteer with the Breck School in the Minneapolis suburb of Golden Valley, chose the alumni center for the school’s annual auction and said the unique interior was a selling point. "The location was fabulous, it was so beautiful inside that it didn’t require a lot of decorations. In some places you really need to provide decorations, but because of all the natural wood and the layout, we could keep the décor simple," said Brattain.
According to Brattain, the only thing that rivaled the amazing interior was the high level of service offered by the staff. When the Breck auction drew 100 more attendees than the school had planned for, the staff quickly and smoothly accommodated the unexpected numbers. "The service was incredible, they worked with us on anything we wanted to do, and when 500 people showed up instead of the expected 400, it wasn’t a problem," said Brattain.
According to Schroeder, the alumni center has already built up a history of accommodating last-minute needs. After Sen. Paul Wellstone’s death in October 2002, the University hosted a memorial service at the nearby Williams Arena just a week later, and the alumni center held a reception to follow it. "We didn’t have a lot of time to get ready for that important event, but it wasn’t a problem," she said.
The alumni center has also had a lot of practice working with high profile events similar to the Wellstone reception. In the past, guests who have used their event space include Secretary of State Colin Powell, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Sen. Elizabeth Dole. The rock band Incubus used the unique interiors of two of the alumni center’s rooms to shoot a music video.
Thanks to its distinct design and impeccable service, Schroeder expects the alumni center will continue to draw visitors and events to the University of Minnesota. "We’ve gotten a lot of really great feedback and our reputation is growing," she said. "When people come here for events, they want to stay and enjoy themselves. They’re not in a hurry to leave."
