The 1,800-sq. ft. miniature course includes obstacles that incorporate the University’s heritage, including an old leather-style football helmet nicknamed for Dick Butkus, an Illinois “I” bridge and a replica of Memorial Stadium’s iconic pillars. “On most buildings this would just be wasted space,” said Assistant Athletic Director Tim Knox. The custom-designed course was a change order to the original $79.2 million project, made possible by donations.
A rooftop miniature golf course was installed atop the recently completed new 112,000-sq. ft. Smith Football Performance Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The 1,800-sq. ft. course includes several obstacles players must shoot through, into or around to enhance its fun and playability. Many of the obstacles incorporate the University’s heritage, including:
- An old leather-style football helmet (nicknamed the Dick Butkus helmet)
- An Illinois “I” bridge
- Several footballs
- The popular State Farm Center, the large indoor circular arena on campus that hosts games for the Fighting Illini men’s and women’s basketball teams
- A replica of the iconic pillars, which honor the names of alumni killed in World War I, at the 97-year-old U of I Memorial Stadium.
The entire rooftop was conceived as a player’s lounge for relaxation. It consists of the miniature golf course and a partially covered steel trellis with furniture underneath it, along with heaters. There is also a three-sided enclosed building that has airplane-like doors that open to the kitchen, which features a 60-inch grill.
“I think it was Josh Whitman, our Director of Athletics, who had the idea for including a miniature golf course on the rooftop,” said Tim Knox, Assistant Athletic Director, Football Operations at the University of Illinois. “On most buildings this would be just wasted space, [but] we felt there was potential to use that space to expand the footprint without expanding the building.
“I think it turned out better than we thought it was going to be,” Knox added. “It was a concept and a drawing, but until you see it built, I don’t think we realized what we were getting. We didn’t give them very much space and they came up with something very useable. We’re really happy with the course.”
The $79.2 million complex was originally designed by the HNTB architecture firm, with world-class player amenities designed to attract recruits and support a successful football program. In addition to the miniature golf course, the facility includes five pools and two bowling alleys among its therapeutic and recreational features.
The new building now ranks as the largest football players’ complex in the Big Ten Conference.
According to Adam Hebert, Project Manager with the Petry Kuhne Company of Champaign, which was awarded the General Trades contract for the project, adding the custom-designed course was a change order to the original project that was made possible by donations. “They were trying to be different from other universities,” said Hebert.
The nine-hole miniature rooftop golf course was custom-designed by Adventure Golf Services (AGS) of Traverse City, Mich., which has more than 35 years of experience designing and installing permanent, custom modular or portable miniature golf courses, in locations ranging from municipal parks to cruise ship decks to commercial and resort building rooftops.
At the Smith Center, AGS supervised the installation of the miniature course using patented interlocking panels and anchoring the course to the roof pavers. AGS also supplied one of its custom equipment benches that was installed for putter and golf ball storage.
“We are seeing more interest and demand for miniature golf to be offered as an amenity,” said Scott Lundmark, AGS President. “Our products can be designed to fit any space, theme and budget.”
Other products offered by AGS include:
- Multi-use game court systems for bocce, croquet, lawn bowling, shuffleboard, bean bag toss, and other activities
- Pickleball and paddle tennis courts
- Golf practice centers, ranging from single golf hitting bays to courts for multiple players
- Putting greens for indoors and outdoors, either permanent or portable
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