SAMFORD CELEBRATES HISTORIC GROUNDBREAKING OF STATE-OF-THE-ART CAMPUS RECREATION, WELLNESS AND ATHLETIC COMPLEX

by Holly Gainer

Construction on Samford’s new state-of-the-art recreation and athletic complex is underway and was celebrated with an offi cial groundbreaking on April 25. The historic project will result in the Campus Recreation, Wellness and Athletic Complex, which will provide students and employees with expanded opportunities to improve physical fi tness and mental wellness as well as new spaces for campus events and student gatherings. Additional facilities will provide new practice and training spaces for the university’s 17 Division I athletic teams.

The complex will be made up of four separate buildings totaling 165,000 square feet. The $65 million venture is the largest capital project in the university’s history. Construction and renovations are currently underway with the first phase of the project—the Health and Wellness Center—completed this spring. The new health and wellness space is located on the first floor of the Dwight and Lucille Beeson Alumni Center and is now home to University Health Services and the Samford CARES office, which includes student counseling, wellness programs, a food pantry and offices for the CARE team.

Renovations of Seibert Hall and Bashinsky Field House are also underway. Seibert Hall is being completely redesigned to include two basketball courts, a new multiuse court, studios for fitness classes, an esports studio, dance studios, weight and cardio machines, a multipurpose workout area, and common areas for students to gather, with lounge areas, a coffeehouse and a 24-hour convenience store.

Bashinsky Field House is being renovated into a fully refurbished, dedicated facility for Samford studentathletes, including new training spaces for teams and dedicated practice space for the men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball programs.

A third building will be constructed adjacent to Seibert Hall and will encompass

30,000 square feet of recreation and event space. The new facility will include a suspended indoor track, additional basketball courts and cardio spaces, sound and staging to host campus events, a catering kitchen, covered outdoor athletic space, a pedestrian walkway and a covered balcony that overlooks Bobby Bowden Field.

“This project represents a substantial investment in the health and wellness of our campus. We are committed to supporting our students in their educational and spiritual journeys, and we also want to support them in their physical and mental well-being,” said President Beck A. Taylor. “With the completion of the health and wellness center, we are one step closer to enhancing campus life for our students and employees, and providing our students with spaces to gather, exercise, socialize and participate in numerous recreational activities.”

The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2024. ◗