Roosevelt University will build a field house for its athletics program and its intramural and recreational activities thanks to a $3 million donation from the Lillian and Larry Goodman Foundation.

The field house will be located at the southeast corner of Congress Parkway and Wabash Avenue, across the street from the university’s Auditorium Building. To be named the Lillian and Larry Goodman Center, it will provide 27,834 square feet on two levels to accommodate sports programs as well as administrative offices, a varsity strength and conditioning center, an athletic training room, team meeting rooms, a student lounge, and locker rooms.

The design includes retractable bleachers that can be rolled in the gym to seat approximately 500 people. When not used in this capacity, the gym space can be segmented for various activities and programs.

Larry Goodman is an entrepreneur, sports enthusiast, and lifelong resident of the Chicago area. Goodman said he decided to fund a project in Chicago because the Chicago community generously supported him during his early days of business.He is the founder of the Community Discount Store chain, which he sold in 1965; he now owns and operates shopping centers and office buildings.

“I want to thank Larry Goodman for his generous gift, which is one of the largest individual gifts in the history of Roosevelt,” said the school’s President, Chuck Middleton. “Roosevelt University is pleased that the… field house will be named after Larry and his late wife, Lillian, who have made a measurable difference in the quality of life in our community through their many years of philanthropy. In addition to athletics, we plan to use the Lillian and Larry Goodman Center as a gathering space for all students. It will enhance recreational, social, and student life activities at Roosevelt.”

“I am proud and honored to be a partner with Roosevelt University,” Larry Goodman said. “The Lillian and Larry Goodman Center is a wonderful opportunity to support Roosevelt University and the city of Chicago.”

The new center is expected to open by the beginning of the 2012-13 academic year. Solomon Cordwell Buenz is the architect, and Power Construction is the contractor. The building will be a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified facility.

For more information, call (877) 277-5978.

— Marie Balice Ward