<< back to Priorities
“Honor the life of the mind” is a core CC value, and keeping one’s body fit complements this commitment
Forty-one years ago, the college opened El Pomar Sports Center to ensure that students had the best facilities available at the time, and it was a major addition to the campus. Student demand has increased substantially during the past four decades, and the building cannot meet the surge in need.
Spearheading the project, El Pomar Foundation made a lead gift of $8.5 million, which will preserve and update its legacy building. Construction began on October 25 to create 11,000 square feet of new space that will serve as the “gateway” on the building’s southwest end and add additional classroom and office spaces. Doing so will free up much-needed interior space for various athletic activities.
Then, new construction on El Pomar Center’s north end will add another 29,000 square feet.
Some of the additions include:
• a cardio conditioning room and separate strength area
• separate varsity training areas
• a full-sized basketball/volleyball court
• a yoga studio
• squash courts
• an auxiliary gym
• expanded physical therapy space
• indoor and outdoor lounge spaces for students, faculty, and staff to socialize
• separate locker rooms for students, faculty, and staff
More than 75 percent of the space will be dedicated to flexible student uses. With the Block Plan’s intensity, it is important that we provide healthy options for our students to reduce their stress. El Pomar Center will offer more opportunities for campus community interactions than any other space on campus, and hopefully will ultimately lessen the number of Boettcher Health Center visits.
To date, the college has raised $13 million in gift commitments for the project (with some designated for specific rooms or facilities). Fundraising continues for the project’s remaining $7 million. We currently anticipate that the project will be finished in the spring of 2013.
Contact Jay Maloney at jay.maloney@coloradocollege.edu to be part of this effort.