· The $6.5 million project will be used by DMACC’s Athletic Teams, as well as other DMACC Boone Campus Students, Faculty and Staff.
· The facility is named “Fareway Fieldhouse” after a generous donation from Boone, IA based Fareway Stores, Inc.
· Athletic Director BJ McGinn said “This new facility is a game-changer” in the recruiting of student-athletes to the Boone Campus.
An open house and ribbon cutting ceremony was held yesterday for the Boone Campus Student Activity Center. The $6.5 million facility is named “Fareway Fieldhouse” after Fareway Stores, Inc., headquartered in Boone, donated $250,000 to the DMACC Foundation to be used for the new DMACC Boone Campus Student Activity Center. The facility includes two college-size basketball/volleyball courts with each court containing three 40’ x 70’ baseball/softball batting cages that drop down from the fieldhouse ceiling.
The new student activity center also contains a state-of-the-art weight room designed by Powerlift, a contemporary sports medicine lab, an indoor golf performance center, storage space, office settings and a family room.
DMACC President Rob Denson said the athletic teams as well as other DMACC Boone Campus students, faculty and staff will use this facility.
“Students today expect state-of-the-art learning and activity facilities,” Denson said. “This Student Activities Center will make the Boone Campus even more attractive and improve the student experience.”
DMACC Board member, retired Fareway President and COO and Boone resident Fred Greiner said he’s seen how the Boone community rallied behind this important construction project.
“Our community has always taken great pride in this campus, the student athletes who have competed here, the commitment to academic excellence, the new and renovated student housing and the overall growth of the campus,” Greiner said. “But the one thing we’ve been missing is athletic and student recreation facilities that make us competitive with other colleges and universities. Today, I’m excited and pleased to say ‘we now have that.’”
DMACC Athletic Director BJ McGinn said the new facility is already having a positive impact on the recruitment of student-athletes to the Boone Campus.
“The impact that the DMACC Boone Campus Student Activity Center / Fareway Fieldhouse has had in terms of recruitment for both our student athletes as well as our traditional students has been astronomical,” McGinn said. “Prior to the new facility, prospective students would often conclude a visit stating that they needed to go see a couple of more schools before they would make a decision. More often than not, now we find from both our coaches and our campus recruiters that students are calling from the car on the way home to make a commitment to DMACC. This new facility is a game-changer.”
DMACC Boone Campus Provost Dr. Drew Nelson said when he began his role as the provost in 2016, the Boone Campus did not have a weight room.
“We had ancient hand-me-down equipment interspersed with HVAC infrastructure on the mezzanine above the gym. We often did not show this space to recruits on visits,” Nelson said. “Externally, this new Student Activities Center is a great welcome to people coming in on the south side of town. Its presence states that the campus is integral to the community and confirms the importance of student life and athletics to those who attend the Boone campus.”
The expansion project added an additional 28,500 square feet to the existing gym.
All DMACC athletics are located at the DMACC Boone Campus. Those sports include: men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s baseball, women’s softball and women’s volleyball.
The facility was built by DLR Architects and Baxter Construction.
