After a year of construction, the new addition to the Freeman Athletic Center is nearing completion. Scheduled to open Jan. 19, it will include a fitness center, gymnasium, squash courts and team locker rooms. Renovations will also be made to upgrade the ice hockey rink, the main lobby and the existing fitness center.
The project was undertaken to accommodate additional construction plans as well as to maximize activity space.
“With plans for building a University Center in the locations of Fayerweather Gym and the Alumni Athletic Building, the real driving force for this renovation was vacating the campus center,” said Joe Crouse, Project Manager of Construction Services. “We are replacing 90,000 square feet in the existing facilities with just over 56,000 in the addition. We have consolidated our use of space quite well.”
The fitness center alone encompasses 7,500 square feet, more than double the size of the existing area. The additional space will house 83 weight lifting stations, 10 elliptical trainers, 10 stationary bikes and 18 cardiovascular machines. The center will also feature several television sets. Lighting will also be improved, with full-length windows facing out onto Anderson track and skylights providing greater sunlight during the day.
An additional bank of windows looks out onto the new gymnasium, which has permanent backboard installations, a new scoreboard, permanent flooring and retractable bleachers able to seat 1,050.
“It will be an intimate and comfortable home court environment,” said Gerry McDowell, Head Coach of men’s basketball. “The scoreboard will be modern and informative. The team rooms [on the lower level] will provide a special environment and be a place where players will want to hang out with each other.”
The close proximity to other athletic sites is also appealing.
“Alumni gym seemed to be a hike for most people on campus,” said co-captain of women’s basketball Sue Frost ’05. “But now we get to have other sports teams and people working out throughout the building who will stop by to check out the game.”
Furthermore, the design of the gym was made with accessibility in mind.
“One challenge we had to deal with was connectivity,” Crouse said. “We visited many institutions that were making renovations to their athletic centers. What we found was that it was how to make connections between facilities that was essential for success. By nature, you have long corridors with these facilities. We wanted to connect them in a logical way so people would not get lost.”
As a result, hallways in the addition are wide and well lit. Many of the facilities have large window panels so visitors can orient themselves based upon where they are in the building.
The project also took into account the existing athletic center when sketching out designs.
“We wanted to keep facility on two levels,” Crouse said. “This is quite an impressive achievement since we were able to keep the same levels with the old facility. As a result, we do not need any ramps when moving from one place to another.”
This is evident in the renovations made to the ice hockey rink. With new platforms at the top of the stands and a newly enclosed area that hosts a concession stand and restrooms, spectators can watch an ice hockey match. Then make their way to the fitness center for a workout.
While varsity team members will undoubtedly benefit from competing in the new venues, the project was intended to address the needs of the entire Wesleyan community.
“The new fitness center and the gymnasium will have a tremendous impact on a large group of Wesleyan users including varsity athletes, intramurals, club sports, recreation and faculty/staff,” said Athletic Director John Biddiscombe.
To ensure that the needs of all students were met, Shaleen Bowman ’03 and Matt Meyersohn ’03, members of the WSA’s Finance and Facilities Committee, collaborated with contractors.
“My input was extremely well received,” Bowman said. “They really valued [our] opinion, because we were senior students who knew what the community needed and valued.”
It was because of student input that the construction team decided to double the initial size of the new fitness center.
With a recent surge in popularity, the squash courts will likely see plenty of recreational use. Aside from handling instructional squash courses, four of the eight courts will be useful during the Wesleyan Round Robin, an annual tournament held at the University.
“The Round Robin is one of the biggest squash matches on the calendar, with 15 teams competing,” said David Cukierman, former Head Coach of men’s and women’s squash. “In the past, we use to play in the ‘narrows’ [hardball courts] but it is a different game in there. Now we can play more of them on our international courts.”
The squash courts will be located on the bottom floor of the addition, facing out onto Warren Street.
With a new spacious fitness center ready to replace it, the original center will be partitioned into three spaces. One area will house a new rowing station for the crew team. The area currently filled with cardio equipment will become a storage space. The final area will be transformed into a multi-use room for student clubs and groups.
“[The multi-use room] will be a huge help to clubs and groups such as Tai-chi and yoga because it will be able to specifically address their space needs,” said Associate Athletic Director Richard Whitmore.
Finally, the construction provided an opportunity to address a problematic lack of parking.
“We had to increase the amount of parking,” Crouse said. “When events were held here, people would illegally park and block off near-by residents.”
In the parking area adjacent to Anderson track there had been 82 spaces. With parking lots coming off of Fountain Avenue and Cross Street, that number has been increased to 300.
While furniture and equipment instillation will not be complete until the first day of Spring semester, construction is expected to finish some time in December. The first competition to be held in the new addition will be Jan. 3, when men’s basketball takes the court against Albertus Magnus. Women will hold their first match in the new gym on Jan. 6 against Rhode Island College.
“Although I am a little biased, I truly believe that this facility puts us at or near the top of the NESCAC,” Bowman said.
Leave a Reply