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Gophers will break ground on Athletes Village Oct. 30

The wait is over for the University of Minnesota to begin building the $166 million Athletes Village project.

The Gophers announced Wednesday that a groundbreaking ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. on Oct. 30 at the Bierman athletic complex.

The university's Board of Regents voted on Oct. 9 to move forward to construction.

The U raised just $76.5 million, but President Eric Kaler recommended borrowing the remaining $89.5 million for the project, which includes an academic center and practice facilities for football and basketball.

"Getting the Athletes Village project to this point, from a vision for the future of Gopher Athletics to a reality that will take shape over the next two years, demanded countless hours of work from a great number of people," interim athletics director Beth Goetz said in a statement.