Princeton University Athletics
A Different Type of Tailgating
October 20, 2000 | General
Oct. 20, 2000
Want to avoid the pregame and postgame traffic associated with a football or basketball game? Perhaps relax in a caf? or enjoy the selections of a food gallery, including a Mongolian grill?
Maybe take in some shopping at a University Store outlet, student agency kiosks or a convenient shop? Enjoy a lounge with big-screen television or a digital display wall?
Visit a beverage lab? Shoot a game of billiards? Surf the Web and check your e-mail?
You can do all of that in one place, and it's within walking distance of athletic facilities. The new Frist Campus Center opened last month and blends a sense of history and tradition with modern technology and ambiance.
"We hope people will see us as a destination before and after games," says Frist director Paul Breitman. In the short time that Frist has been open, Breitman already senses that the new campus center is quickly becoming a destination spot.
"The face of Princeton is changing. It's much more diversified, and we our proud to have something for everyone here. It's a place where you can experience the `Princeton Experience.'"
The addition of a campus center had been debated for decades, but a $25 million gift from Nashville's Frist family in 1997 turned the discussions into a reality. The center joins the old Palmer Hall, which was restored and renovated as part of Frist's construction. Portions of Palmer's outside walls, which contain various famous quotations, serve as hallways in the three-story, six-level campus center that integrates the old with the new. The 185-square-foot, $48-million center is designed to meet the needs of today's students, faculty, staff and alumni.
The Frist Center is open seven days a week and closes no earlier than 2 a.m. It contains a 4,200-square-foot banquet room, 268 public laptop ports, 28 computer workstations, a 192-seat lecture hall with a projection screen and a 241-seat theater. The eight-cube digital wall is approximately 20 by 8 feet and provides a great place to watch sporting events and other programming.
"We believe that the Frist Campus Center is a place to bring people together," says Breitman. "Some of that may be spontaneous and some planned. There is a sense of energy here."
The official dedication will take place Oct. 20, and there will be a variety of special events held on Saturday, Oct. 21. The Tigers host Harvard in football that weekend and also have field hockey, men's and women's soccer and women's volleyball home events.
Designed by Robert Venturi '47 *50 and his partner, Denise Scott Brown, the Frist Campus Center is named for the Frist family, including: Sen. William H. Frist '74, a heart and lung transplant surgeon, and his wife, Karyn, Tomas F. Frist Jr., a founder of the Hospital Corporation of America, and his wife, Patricia, and their sons, Thomas '91 and William '93.
"Our goal is to build community at the University," Breitman said before the center opened. "To start, we need to build community at Frist. We hope to encourage the campus community to interact and to learn from each other and to communicate, collaborate and develop mutual respect and collegial relationships. We believe Frist is a world-class facility and showplace that will serve the University as a destination and hub of activity and learning for everyone at Princeton."
It also makes for a great destination spot for fans before and after athletic events.
by Kurt Kehl