UAH Conference Training Center renovation enhances campus life for Chargers, visitors

A new Charger Blue horseshoe – plus the first lines of the Fight Song emblazoned on a light blue Huntsville skyline – greets you just inside the main entrance of the recently renovated Conference Training Center (CTC) at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH).

Michael Mercier | UAH

Since 1969, the year The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) became an autonomous university within The University of Alabama (UA) System, the facility now known as the Conference Training Center (CTC) has been a prime focus of campus life. A fresh renovation completed for Fall 2026 puts the CTC on track to serve the Charger community into the next 50-plus years and beyond.

The CTC gets lots of traffic – what with Charger Café, Starbucks, event venues of various sizes, collaborative learning spaces and numerous services for the general student population, including Parking Services and the Counseling Center. So, a large portion of the Charger community eagerly anticipated the completion of the project, which included the following:

• Updates of existing finishes in the first-floor floor lobby and renovation and reconfiguration of adjacent public restrooms.
• New finishes, graphics and signage, audio-visual equipment, lighting and mechanical upgrades in the Exhibit Hall.
• New flooring, wall paint and coverings, graphics and signage, lighting, acoustical ceiling, and the addition of new storefront partitions in the Esports Suite and adjacent common areas.
• New furniture and furnishings in the Esports Suite, first-floor lobby and second-floor student study lounge.

This aerial view of the UAH Student Union, now the CTC, shows the facility during its earlier years when it housed the campus bookstore, SGA offices, the student newspaper and much more.

UAH Archives

UAH showcased the CTC’s latest enhancements during the Presidential Address by Dr. Donald J. Leo on the morning of Oct. 7. Along with faculty and staff, the event brought UAH alumni, UA System members and supporters from across the larger community to fill the Exhibit Hall.

From SU to UC to CTC

The original building, which contained about 21,160 square feet, was under construction at the same time as the library and the Science and Engineering Building.

The Sept. 17, 1969, issue of exponent, the UAH student newspaper, described the new buildings and called the Student Union “probably of the most immediate interest to the students.” It was expected to open later that month.

• Cafeteria and eating area.
• Bookstore, “where all items except textbooks will be sold.”
• General purpose room, “actually a full-court basketball court with sliding partitions to make three separate rooms out of it.” (This space included outlets for microphones to accommodate the cultural and film series and other social activities. There were adjacent shower rooms with lockers.)
• Three lounges “for socializing and card playing” as well as reading and relaxing, plus a TV lounge.

The UAH Esports Suite in the lower floor of the CTC received a transformative upgrade to enhance the experience for gamers and observers.

Michael Mercier | UAH

The second floor housed office and meeting space for the SGA as well as “two rooms for the exponent, a room for Debris, the UAH annual, and a darkroom for use by the yearbook and newspaper.”

Expansions in 1984 and 2008 resulted in today’s total area of approximately 87,000 gross square feet of space.

As the Student Union transitioned to the University Center and then to the CTC, it offered features such as a bowling alley, an art gallery and performances by traveling Shakespeare troupes that UAH alumni from different eras remember fondly.

Esports into the future

The highlight of the new renovation is the Esports Suite on the CTC’s lower level.

A group of former psychology classrooms with drab beige walls became a sleek, accessible space of UAH blue, black and gray. Glass doors and walls separate rooms for team practice and competition while opening up the whole area for game viewing. The new lighting can be adjusted to optimal colors. There’s even a welcome desk just outside the entrance.

It’s the perfect venue for serious fun and competition, says Ethan Hummel, director of UAH Esports. He’s proud to show anyone around the new suite, and he especially relished the opportunity during UAH Esports’ High School Esports Invitational on Nov. 7.

“I had two high school students tell me that they’d been considering UAH,” he says, “and they decided they’re coming here.”

The Esports Suite – and the rest of the CTC – is ready.