Starting the Spoelhof Fieldhouse Complex
The biggest building project in ذكذكتسئµ history will officially start on May 4 at 3 pm when the college hosts a celebratory ceremony to mark the formal beginnings of .
The upcoming expansion will include a new arena, a new aquatic center, a new indoor track and tennis center and a significant renovation of the existing ذكذكتسئµ Fieldhouse (the latter also includes building a new student health center within the facility as part of the renovation). The first phase is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2008, and the entire project by the end of 2009.
The event will take place in the current ذكذكتسئµ Fieldhouse and special guests such as Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell and MIAA commissioner Dave Neilson will participate in the program along with ذكذكتسئµ athletic director Nancy Meyer, college president Gaylen Byker, the ذكذكتسئµ Pep Band and several of the project's major donors.
One of those donors is John Spoelhof who with his wife Judy made a lead gift to the project which as a result will be called the Spoelhof Fieldhouse Complex.
John Spoelhof is the former president of Prince Corporation, and a longtime friend of ذكذكتسئµ, while Judy is a 1961 graduate of the college. They reside in Holland, Michigan.
The new arena at ذكذكتسئµ will be called VanNoord Arena in honor of Andrew and Gladys VanNoord. It will measure some 175,000 square feet, seat approximately 5,000 and replace the ذكذكتسئµ Fieldhouse, which was built in 1965, as the homecourt for the school's Division III men's and women's basketball teams and women's volleyball team.
The new aquatic center at ذكذكتسئµ will be named the Venema Aquatic Center in recognition of a gift from ذكذكتسئµ alumna Thelma Venema.
The renovation of the existing ذكذكتسئµ Fieldhouse will be a significant effort and will create both a new health and recreation center and a new student health center within the renovated facility. The retooled fieldhouse will be renamed the Hoogenboom Health and Recreation Center. The new student health center will be named Marian Hoogenboom Health Services. Both names recognize significant financial support for the project from Terry Hoogenboom, a Goshen, Indiana-based builder and real estate developer. His wife Marian died of cancer and the connections to health and wellness are especially poignant for the Hoogenboom family.
In addition, the current on-campus student health center at ذكذكتسئµ, which now is housed in the basement of a residence hall, will be significantly expanded and find a new home in the renovated fieldhouse. It will increase from a 2,000 square foot facility currently to an approximately 6,000 square foot center complete with numerous exam and treatment rooms, a lab and various health center employee offices.
The other lead donor to the overall expansion project at ذكذكتسئµ is the Grand Rapids-based Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation.
At the upcoming event ذكذكتسئµ students will be eligible for special prizes, including gift certificates for Ada Bike Shop, (compliments of Ada Bike Shop and Aspen Gold Investment Inc) and a one-week vacation in Florida (also compliments of Aspen Gold Investment Inc).