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Artist's rendering of the future
Bob Rosencrans Hall of Honor Fitness Center
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The centerpiece of the 2005 athletic facilities improvement project is the $750,000 Bob Rosencrans Hall of Honor Fitness Center to be built onto the existing HPER Center. New strength training and cardiovascular exercise equipment will also be purchased for both the new fitness center and the existing facility, the Earl F. Morris Track will be re-surfaced, Edwards-Maurer Field will get a new synthetic grass surface and the lobby of the HPER Center will receive a variety of aesthetic improvements.
“We are making a significant commitment for new equipment and facilities to support the needs of the general student, faculty and staff population at Wittenberg, as well as making the appropriate improvements to the strength and fitness needs of the university’s varsity athletes,” said Darrell Kitchen, vice president of business and finance.
The Bob Rosencrans Hall of Honor Fitness Center will add 4,622 square feet of space to the front of the building, which will be filled with state-of-the-art fitness equipment available for use by anyone in the Wittenberg community. In addition, the university’s three certified athletic trainers will gain much-needed space for examinations and rehabilitation work, including an ice machine and a whirlpool tub, in the new fitness center.
The lobby of the HPER Center will be brightened considerably with new lighting, fresh paint, trophy cases and a new “Wall of Honor,” which will include plaques for each of the 147 inductees in the Wittenberg University Athletic Hall of Honor in an attractive display just outside of the fitness center. Rosencrans, a 1958 graduate of Wittenberg and a three-year letterwinner on the football team, enjoyed a career as an assistant football coach, head golf coach and athletic director at Wittenberg from 1970-95. He was also a member of the Athletic Hall of Honor Class of 2000. I
n addition to an estimated $370,000 worth of new equipment in both the old and new fitness areas, the existing facility will get new floor surfaces, wall treatments and other aesthetic improvements. The Bob Rosencrans Hall of Honor Fitness Center, which will be built by Thomas & Marker Construction of Bellefontaine with architectural services provided by Beasley Architect and Design of Bellefontaine, will have numerous added amenities, including video capabilities.
Construction on the center will begin as soon as all of the necessary permits have been obtained from the City of Springfield, according to Kitchen. That hopefully means groundbreaking by the end of February in order to have all construction completed by Aug. 1, 2005, in time for the start of the 2005-06 school year.
