UCLA's Pauley Pavilion Renovation $50M Cheaper Than Estimate

UCLA Will Host A Pauley Pavilion Groundbreaking Celebration Tuesday

UCLA on Tuesday will host a Pauley Pavilion groundbreaking celebration, and UCLA AD Dan Guerrero said that the economic downturn resulted in construction costs in the bidding process coming in "much lower" than originally estimated, dropping the cost of the renovation from $185M to $136M. He said despite trimming nearly $50M from the original estimate, the renovation plan "remains 100 percent intact." Guerrero said the arena "absolutely" would still need work without a Pauley Pavilion transformation project. Guerrero: "The University would still have to replace the infrastructure -- a cost estimated to be at least $50 million of the total budget -- even if there were no transformation project. With state resources being virtually non-existent for this purpose, the campus could have been facing a real dilemma." Meanwhile, Guerrero said UCLA has made "impressive progress" toward its $100M Campaign of Champions fundraising goal, noting "more than 600 donors have already rallied around this legendary structure with gifts and pledges totaling more than" $65M. Guerrero: "Our goal is to reach the $100 million mark as quickly as possible. Now that construction has started and the clock is counting down until the doors re-open on the transformed Pauley Pavilion, we anticipate that we will see a wave of loyal Bruins participate in the Campaign of Champions" (UCLABRUINS.com, 5/5).