University Southern California Trojans
Million Gift Will Name USC Events Center
Aug. 27, 2003
Louis and Helene Galen have donated $25 million to USC's Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, bringing their total contribution to the university's new campus events center to $35 million, USC President Steven Sample announced today.
The Galens' gift pushed the USC athletics department over the $70 million threshold required to begin building on the project. In recognition of their gift, the 10,258-seat center, a future home for both sports and cultural events, will be named the Galen Center.
"This generous gift from our dedicated friends Helene and Lou Galen allows us to turn our dream of building a sports and cultural events center into a reality," Sample said.
"Because of their generosity, USC students will have a state-of-the-art facility for varsity basketball and volleyball, as well as a superb cultural center for the presentation of concerts and other events. I am proud to see the name of these dedicated Trojans on our new center."
This marks the third multimillion-dollar donation from the Galens, longtime Trojan football fans who created a $10 million trust for the center's construction in 2003 and donated $1.25 million to establish a combined dining and social activities center for students in 1997.
In 2000, to enhance USC education in the arts, the Galens donated $300,000 to endow the Helene and Louis Galen Ceramics Studio in the USC School of Fine Arts. The Galen Center will play host to an estimated 130 events a year, including Trojan men's and women's basketball and volleyball games as well as concerts, pageants and theater performances.
It also will give the Trojan men's and women's basketball and volleyball teams their first true home-court advantage and boost recruiting efforts in both basketball and volleyball, said USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett.
"The gift from the Galens is, as far as we know, the largest private gift given to any athletic department for a capital project," Garrett said. "It is certainly, by far, the largest gift ever received by the USC athletic department."
The proposed site of the new Galen Center will be at Jefferson Boulevard and Figueroa Street near the University Park campus. Now that funding has been secured, the university will work with city and community agencies to complete an Environmental Impact Report and obtain building permits.
Trojan athletics have played a major role in the Galens' life, and vice versa. Louis Galen proposed to his London-born wife in front of 3,000 people at a USC/Notre Dame football rally, and presented her with a Trojan Marching Band helmet on their wedding day.
Galen, who graduated from the USC Law School in 1951, made his fortune in the banking industry. In 1960, he became president of Lynwood Savings and Loan, a company he founded, and changed its name to World Savings.
He then formed Trans World Financial, a holding company for World Savings, which merged with Golden West Financial and grew into a multi-state institution. Galen remains a director for World Savings and Golden West Financial.
Helene Galen is a member of the USC School of Fine Arts' board of counselors and is active in various charitable organizations in Rancho Mirage and Palm Springs. She has served on the boards of the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center, the Eisenhower Hospital and the Palm Springs Museum.
GALEN CENTER FACT SHEET
Galen Center:
The center will consist of a 255,000 square-foot arena with 10,258 seats.
General facilities will include:
? Athletic Department Hall of Fame ? Cardinal & Gold function room ? USC auxiliary ticket office ? concession stands ? athletic merchandise store
Team facilities will include:
? locker rooms for USC men's and women's basketball and volleyball teams ? locker rooms for visiting teams ? weight room ? medical training room
Athletic Pavilion:
The 45,000 square-foot pavilion will be attached to the Galen Center by an atrium and will include three practice courts, coaches' offices and administrative offices.
Parking:
A 1,200 square-foot parking structure will be built between the Radisson Hotel and Flower Street. Additional parking will be provided in the 1,900-space University Parking Center at Jefferson Boulevard and Hope Street, a one-block walk to the Galen Center.
Time Line:
By September 2004, it is anticipated that the Environmental Impact Report and building permits will have been approved and design and construction drawings will have been finalized.
By May 2006, it is anticipated that construction of the Galen Center will have been completed.
