Next year, Eastern’s volleyball team will not be at Groniger Arena.

The Panthers will hold all of their practices and play all of their home games starting in the fall 2025 season in south McAfee Gym, the university announced last week in a press release.

The move and renovations to McAfee gym are funded by a grant from Eastern alum Joe Gardella and his family. Upon completion of the renovations to the south gym, and pending approval from the EIU board of trustees, the arena will be named after the Gardella family.

“Being an alum, Joe Gardella is very fond of McAfee from his time here,” EIU Athletic Director Tom Michael said. “Joe [Gardella] is investing in the community and campus, and this is just another way I think that Joe [Gardella] is able to provide an opportunity to revitalize McAfee.”

According to Michael, there isn’t a set price tag on what the cost of the renovations and move will be, but the Gardella family has pledged the funding necessary.

Eastern’s head coach Sara Thomas said this is a move that has been in the works for years, and she’s excited for this new direction the program is taking.

“To see a dream and a goal of mine, of Manolo [Conception], as well as Tom Michael and President [Jay] Gatrell’s come to fruition is definitely heartwarming,” Thomas said. “It is a step in a positive direction for the sport of volleyball.”

McAfee Gym was built in 1938 as part of a development by the Works Progress Administration near the end of the Great Depression.

The building hasn’t been a sport specific venue of an Eastern athletic program since the 1980s. In 1995, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places and has since been used for intramural sports, academic advising and health education.

Michael said the renovations won’t alter the building’s historical status.

“Not a lot is being done in terms of completely changing what it looks like,” Michael said. “It’s not like we’re tearing a lot of things out to do this project.”

The plan is to put blue padding on the walls, opening up the opportunity for school branding. There will be a new scoreboard and sound system as well as a fresh coat of paint.

The biggest change is the playing surface. Teraflex flooring will be put in, which is a rubber based surface that is used in the later stages of the NCAA tournament and at the highest level of college volleyball. The flooring is used because of how much more forgiving it is on player’s bodies than normal wood flooring.

Eastern will have the only venue with this kind of flooring in the Ohio Valley Conference.

“We were grateful to have one of the best facilities in the conference in Groniger Arena, but I think that having a volleyball only gym puts us at a great advantage, especially when we [will have] the only facility that is going to have permanent Teraflex flooring,” assistant coach Manolo Conception said.

One barrier around the project is that there is no central air conditioning system in McAfee, with rooms having to resort to wall units in the warm summer months. Michael said the plan is to install fans to help circulate airflow.

Another barrier is finding a spot for the media to set up.

Groniger Arena has space for media personnel to set up across the court as well as in the press box, whereas the south gym in McAfee is much smaller and doesn’t have those amenities.

According to Michael, there may be a way to have media sit across the court from the benches, the way it’s currently designed in Groniger Arena.

“There’s obviously going to be ample opportunities for us to take care of that piece,” Michael said.

There’s also a stage that occupies the entire east wall of the gym, which is not going to be altered. Michael says a moveable curtain will most likely be put there.

“I don’t know how it will actually be used on game day yet,” Michael said. “That’s probably yet to be determined.”

While the gameday look hasn’t been fully decided yet, it is confirmed that the locker rooms and coach’s offices will remain in Lantz Complex, with team rooms available to both Eastern and its opponent on gameday.

The volleyball team is excited about the move, according to Thomas. She hopes a move like this sets a precedent for other teams in the OVC.

By moving the team across the street and into the center of Eastern’s campus, both the coaches and Michael said they hope it attracts students and more fans to volleyball games.

“[I’m] excited about the opportunity for our volleyball program to be able to move over there,” Michael said. “I hope it’s a plus for the campus that we’re able to utilize that space in some ways that it was originally intended.”

Gabe Newman can be reached at 581-2812 or at ghnewman@eiu.edu.