Northwestern approves plan for new athletic facility

What does $220 million buy you these days? If you're Northwestern, it gets you a new state-of-the-art lakefront athletic facility. Northwestern announced Saturday that the Board of Trustees approved a plan to build the major athletics-recreation complex that also includes a 1,200 car parking garage.

[NUSports.com: Northwestern announces new athletics/recreation complex]

"This new plan will provide greatly enhanced recreational facilities for all of our students, increased parking at the north end of campus and improved key areas for our athletic programs," Northwestern President Morton Schapiro told NUSports.com. "This will be a benefit to many members of the Northwestern community."

The timetable for construction depends on fundraising.

According to NUSports.com, here's what the facility will include:

• A multipurpose/indoor practice facility with seating for 2,500.
• A diving well that will be adjacent to the existing swimming pool.
• An outdoor practice field for varsity sports, club sports and intramurals.
• Locker rooms, fitness and weight rooms, sports medicine facilities, meeting rooms and offices.
• A 1,200-space parking structure. The first floor of the building will contain fitness studios, weight rooms and other areas for exercise and recreation.

Watch Northwestern's YouTube video on the new facility: