$60 million in private commitments puts university’s Tarrant Center back on track
Richard Tarrant and his wife Deborah gave the University of Vermont the gift that put the Tarrant Center on the map.
Earlier they committed $15 million—the largest capital donation the school had ever received—and the university named its planned multipurpose arena after them.
That early support is still the foundation of the project, and this week UVM officials shared encouraging news: private commitments have now reached about $60 million, more than halfway to what’s needed to get construction moving again.
Tarrant built IDX Systems and later turned his attention to giving.
He had already backed UVM men’s hockey and basketball for years, supported medical and cancer research on campus, and through the Tarrant Foundation put nearly $12 million into an education program that helped middle schools across Vermont.
Three of his sons played varsity sports at the university.
The arena gift felt personal as much as institutional—a belief that better facilities could lift the student experience and give the wider community a place to gather.
University leaders say further commitments from the Tarrant family remain a meaningful part of the $60 million total. Those funds are joined by a matching pledge from Chuck Davis, a 1972 UVM graduate, and his wife Marna.
The two families together form the clearest individual leadership behind the recent progress.
The project has been a long road—more than a decade of planning, some early construction, pandemic delays, and rising costs.
What once looked like a $95 million complex is now closer to $100 million.
This spring the state set aside $10 million from the Unclaimed Property Fund, with the clear condition that UVM raise the rest of the private money or return the public dollars with interest.
The $60 million in commitments reported this week puts the university closer to that mark than it has been in years.
The Board of Trustees is expected to vote in October on whether to restart work.
If it moves forward, the finished Tarrant Center will give the men’s and women’s basketball teams a modern home, upgrade Gutterson Fieldhouse, and turn the aging Patrick Gym into a real student recreation space.
It could also become a regional venue for concerts, conferences, and community events—something Vermont doesn’t currently have at this scale.
The original $15 million gift from Rich and Deb Tarrant still anchors everything, and the additional private support that has followed suggests the building that carries their name may finally move from long-delayed plan to finished reality.