MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury College this Saturday will dedicate the big, new field house it is building at its athletic complex, and opening the school’s new Athletics Hall of Fame.
The public is invited to tour the new facility, as well as the athletic center’s recently opened squash courts, between 1 and 5 p.m. Refreshments will be provided. A dedication ceremony for the new 100,000-square-foot field house adjacent to Kenyon Arena will take place at 6 p.m. The new facility — which features a six-lane, 200-meter track with eight 60-meter sprint lanes and areas for pole jumping, vaulting and throwing competitions; as well as an artificial turf field suitable for all field sports — will be formally named at that time. The building also is home to a new Athletics Hall of Fame.
The new field house replaces “the Bubble,” 50,000-square-feet inflated structure that sat on the same spot.
The college has budgeted a total of $46 million for the entire field house/squash facility project, all of which would be raised from donors.
The Bubble was taken down 18 months ago and construction of the field house began soon after. Construction workers are putting the finishing touches on the facility. As soon as the last bit of work is wrapped up the Panther track and field team will begin to work out in the field house, which will likely happen in February.
MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE’S NEW field house is seen in this photo from this past August, when it was nearly enclosed and crews worked toward a January completion date. The building will be dedicated on Saturday.
Independent file photo/Trent Campbell