Indoor athletics facility update

LEIA LEHRER
GRAPHIC DESIGNER

JORDAN FOX
COPY EDITOR

1/29/2024

Back in fall 2022, Alma College announced the addition of an indoor athletics facility thanks to the generous donor and alum, Greg Hatcher. Just over a year later, it was announced that ground was officially broken in winter 2024.  

The facility will include an indoor track, turf field, weight room and locker rooms. The space will be utilized by several different sports and will also provide a space for increased campus and community engagement. 

“We initially started the conversation of a turf facility and that transformed into an indoor track, as well, because our track and field team currently uses the [Stone Recreation Center (the Rec)] which we felt like there was a need for a better space, more of a home base for them… Within athletics, we try to be as equitable as possible and just trying to get everybody on that same level as far as facilities, as far as locker rooms… that’s really how all of it started,” said Sarah Dehring, Athletic Director at Alma College. 

“This facility will also potentially help with increased enrollment which, as we’re seeing in higher education a decline in enrollment, this was something that especially the board really felt would assist us in increasing our enrollment and helping the college bring more students,” said Dehring. 

One sport, in particular, that is ecstatic about the addition of this facility to campus is track and field. And it’s no secret why if you have witnessed distance runners outside in below-freezing temperatures and sprinters weaving in and out of community members in the Rec. 

“Practicing for indoor track in the Rec is a daily struggle. Due to the extreme cold, sprinters cannot be outside, and we are extremely limited [in] what workouts we can do inside the rec. Along with that, the hard surface takes a toll on our bodies as it flames up pre-existing injuries. Apart from our own workouts, we also have to share the limited space with other teams and the community members as well,” said Victoria Hatton (‘25).

“The indoor facility would allow for a larger range of workouts. We would be able to properly practice block starts, field events such as throws, high jump and long jump, hurdles and more. Proper training would allow us athletes to improve our skills and times,” said Hatton. 

As much as Hatton is excited about the complex, she cannot help but feel slightly disappointed at the lack of progress made thus far. “[W]e were told it would be done for the current 2024 indoor track season… I just hope that this new indoor facility is something that I will be able to experience with my little time left here at Alma College,” said Hatton. 

Despite the referenced communication to track and field athletes that they would be able to utilize this facility for their 2024 indoor season, Dehring says that the timeline is right on track. 

“Our timeline has stayed consistent so… the hope is… that it still opens December of ‘24 which doesn’t really put us back too far from where it was. When you’re first initially talking about ground-breaking, even if we would have [broken ground] in the fall, it would not have been ready by this time just in talking with architects and such; there’s more to this building than just throwing up a metal building,” said Dehring.  

“Inflation has drastically caused the bill to increase so when you go from an $8 million building and you basically double the cost of that, we needed to make sure that we had the funding for it,” said Dehring. For more related information, see the article, “Indoor athletics facility to come in fall 2023,” at https://atomic-temporary-141029739.wpcomstaging.com/2023/02/07/indoor-athletics-facility-to-come-in-fall-2023/.