Wittenberg’s new athletic facility, opening in 2019, has a catchy name

Wes Bates, the chairman and CEO of Stanley Steemer International, the carpet cleaning company, and his wife Ann, both 1970 Wittenberg graduates, donated a large chunk of the money for the facility.

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The structure already looms over Edwards-Maurer Field, filling the area where the football team used to practice behind the HPER Center. Williams said work inside the 1929 building, the older building adjoining the HPER Center, should conclude by Christmas, and renovations of the HPER Center will be done by next summer. The completion of the Steemer will follow.

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“By October of next year, the whole thing will be finished,” Williams said.

The athletic facility improvements include: a 125,000 square-feet complex with a 100-yard indoor artificial turf surface; a six-lane, 300-meter indoor track; a 7,000-square-foot weight room; a sport performance, strength training and wellness center; technology-enabled classroom space; updated locker rooms; and modern court surfaces for tennis, volleyball and basketball.