The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
New UConn practice facility named for Werth family from Woodbridge
STORRS » The process of giving multiple donations, ultimately totalling $7 million, was the easy part for Peter and Pam Werth.
However, the Woodbridge duo’s philanthropic spirit does not carry over to a desire to be in the spotlight. So, when it came time for UConn’s new basketball practice facility to be named, they were significantly more reluctant to have their names there for all to see.
They relented late in the process, and now a landmark of the athletic facilitieswill bear the name “The Werth Family UConn Basketball Champions Center.”
“Basketball has brought UConn so much in sports in the state and it has increased so much academically,” Pam Werth said after a Friday afternoon press conference when the building was officially open for business. “It is great to give the student-athletes a place to practice, study and get physically fit. We are proud to be associated with UConn and it has done so much for the state from entertainment to academics.”
The grand opening featured a host of former players like Ray Allen and Sue Bird, who drew huge ovations from the UConn donors at thepress conference.
“I’m overwhelmed, somewhat envious,” Allen said. “As a 17-, 18-year-old kid, you want to walk into a building like this. There are a lot of franchises in the NBA that don’t have a facility like this for their players to enjoy.”
Much to the delight of UConn men’s coach Kevin Ollie, the ceremony also included the parents of former UConn players Shabazz Napier, Kemba Walker and Tyler Olander.
Ollie said the privately funded building will give his players a place to “practice and prepare for life.”
UConn women’s coach Geno Auriemma won nine national titles without the use of a practice facility to show off to recruits. He was especially proud of the accomplishments of Ollie as a player, as well as Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo before the UConn campus had state-of-the-art buildings.
“If you think about where they did it, we did a lot with a little and now we are going to do more with more,” Auriemma said.
The 75,000-plus square foot building includes separate practice courts, locker rooms and academic centers for players of both teams. The teams, both coming off national championship seasons, have been practicing in the facility.
“The court is amazing,” senior center Kiah Stokes said after the women’s team’s first practice of the season onWednesday. “The fact that we don’t have to wait for volleyball to get off the court or men’s basketball...we can just come in here, get our work done and get out.”