JA N UA RY 202 2
Building begins Courtesy of ISG
BY LANCE SCHWARTZ • CHIEF COMMUNICATION OFFICER
Rendering of the new Bethany Activity and Wellness Center.
Activity and Wellness Center becoming reality Construction has begun for a new Activity and Wellness Center on the Bethany Lutheran College campus. Groundbreaking for the Center took place at the construction site near the corner of Marsh and Division streets on November 9, 2021, while the Bethany Board of Regents was on campus for their quarterly meeting. The new building under construction is being called the Bethany Activity and Wellness Center. Site preparation and foundation work commenced in mid-November with construction continuing throughout 2022. The building is projected for completion in February 2023. The 84,000 square foot facility will be utilized by the entire Bethany campus population providing much needed spaces for students, athletes,
"We couldn’t be more excited to begin this project." - G E N E PFE I FE R , B E TH A N Y PR E S I D E NT
14
and educational and community events alike. The 68,000-square-foot Activity Center and 16,000-square-foot Wellness Center have been in the planning stages for several years, and when completed will be an asset for the entire campus community. The indoor recreational space features a six-lane running/walking track, jumping spaces, artificial turf infield, and drop down netting to divide the space for multiple user groups and purposes at the same time. A new fitness center will house a variety of exercise machines and equipment for the entire campus to use, as well as locker rooms and a 3,000-square-foot student lounge and event space. These new spaces will alleviate pressure on the overtaxed Sports and Fitness Center that was built nearly twenty-eight years ago in 1994. “The remarkable new facility will provide a fourfold impact for Bethany. Students currently using our overcrowded recreational and study and lounge facilities will see immediate benefit. Likewise, with Bethany’s athletic programs doubling in size since the
