Room to work out and play: Waubonsee's new field house

Waubonsee Community College will celebrate the arrival of 2020 five years early.

At a special event on Tuesday, March 10, Waubonsee will mark the completion of the newest addition to its Sugar Grove campus - the new Field House - as well as the completion of its 2020 College Master Plan.

The event at the Field House, on the north end of Waubonsee's Sugar Grove Campus, Route 47 at Waubonsee Drive, will begin at 2 p.m., with a short ceremony at 2:15 p.m. There will be refreshments and tours of the Field House and Erickson Hall from 3-4 p.m.

Offering three indoor courts, a suspended running track and a fitness/dance studio, among other amenities, the Field House will offer Waubonsee students and athletes almost 60,000 square feet of additional space to practice, train and exercise.

At the same time, the college will rededicate Erickson Hall, Waubonsee's long-standing gymnasium and athletic facility, to which the Field House is attached.

While the Field House has been under construction since November 2013, Erickson Hall also underwent extensive renovations as part of the $19 million project. Renovations included the expansion and upgrade of a dedicated athletic team workout room, improved locker rooms and a remodeled athletic study hall room.

Erickson Hall continues to serve as Waubonsee's competition gymnasium, with bleacher seating capacity for 800 people.

The Field House/Erickson Hall complex offers students and the community a seamless, first-class facility to support Waubonsee's athletics programs, credit and noncredit physical education, wellness instruction and general recreation.

"More than just a place to play or work out, this building will help our students develop as well-rounded individuals, and contribute to the quality of life of the community," said Waubonsee President Dr. Christine Sobek.

With the grand opening of the Field House and renovated Erickson Hall, Waubonsee also will use the occasion to announce and celebrate the completion of its 2020 College Master Plan, both ahead of schedule and on budget.

Launched just over a decade ago with the support of voters in referendums in 2002 and 2003, the multiyear building project has reshaped the college, adding an abundance of new classrooms, labs and learning spaces, and placed Waubonsee on a firm footing for the future.

"We are proud that, through teamwork, we fulfilled the commitments we made to our communities," Dr. Sobek said. "We have been good stewards with the dollars taxpayers entrusted to us."

From 2005-2011, Waubonsee opened a new building or new campus nearly every year, beginning with the Campus Operations building on the north side of the Sugar Grove Campus in 2005.

From 2006-2009, the college opened its new Science Building, Academic and Professional Center and Student Center on the Sugar Grove Campus.

In 2010 and 2011, Waubonsee opened its new campuses in Plano and downtown Aurora.

For information on the 2020 College Master Plan or to RSVP to the March 10 event, visit www.waubonsee.edu/2020.