The pool at Metropolitan State University of Denver's Auraria Event Center has sat largely unused for years, and now the university has a plan to replace it entirely. Construction is expected to begin during winter break 2026, transforming the former natatorium into a mix of recreation and event spaces, with the project wrapping up by late summer 2027.
MSU Denver's Board of Trustees unanimously approved the program plan for the renovation, according to early-bird.msudenver.edu. The plan calls for replacing the aquatic facility with a divisible, accessible 500-seat event space designed to handle both academic and nonacademic activities. An October 2026 report by MSU Denver's Early Bird describes the renovated venue as offering banquet seating for more than 500 guests, though the university has not clarified how that figure relates to the 500-seat event-space plan.
Beyond the new event space, the former pool area will become a secondary gymnasium capable of hosting basketball, volleyball, functional training and baseball practice, complete with retractable batting cages, per the same Early Bird report. The renovated venue will also include a dedicated catering area to support the banquets, lectures, performances and court activities the space is meant to accommodate, according to the facilities page.
Racquetball Courts Make Way for Gaming and Golf
The Event Center's underused racquetball and squash courts are also getting repurposed. The university's facilities office says those courts will become a gaming lounge, golf simulation space, Healthy Pursuits studio and storage area, according to msudenver.edu. The same page frames the broader goal as making the Event Center more flexible, capable of transitioning between recreation, student programming and large-scale events while making better use of existing space.
The project is explicitly designed to repurpose underused square footage rather than add new square footage to campus. Planned building upgrades include a new south façade and entrance vestibule, a new exterior curtain wall, upgraded mechanical systems, life-safety improvements, and updated audiovisual infrastructure, furniture and equipment, the facilities office notes.
Funding and Timeline
The university says the renovation is being funded through debt financing, and that no fee increase is required to support that new debt, according to msudenver.edu's facilities projects page. Construction is expected to begin over winter break, the Early Bird has reported, with the current project page pointing to winter break 2026 specifically. Substantial completion is expected by late summer 2027, per Early Bird, while the facilities page lists summer 2027 as the anticipated construction end date.
MSU Denver has said the Auraria Event Center's east and west entrances will remain open throughout construction, and that class relocations and event-scheduling changes will be coordinated in advance. Construction is expected to bring fencing, working-hours noise and temporary access adjustments, with impacts communicated regularly to the campus community, the university says.
The project is managed by Kate Muvceski of the Department of Facilities, with HDR serving as project architect and Howell Construction as contractor. Employees and students can find project updates on the Department of Facilities' current projects page.
