Wednesday, Sep 9, 2009
WALLA WALLA, Wash.—Whitman College will throw open the doors of the
“new” Sherwood Athletic Center after an 18-month, $15.5 million facelift
that transformed the 40-year-old structure into a state-of-the-art
facility, on Wednesday, Sept. 16.
The public open house, from 4 to 6 p.m., will include tours, beginning
at 4 p.m. President Bridges will make opening remarks at 4:30 p.m. and
there will be athletic demonstrations at 5:30 p.m. Designed by Weinstein
Architects & Urban Designers of Seattle and constructed by the
contractor Opp and Seibold, the new Sherwood is a “magnificent”
building, said Dean Snider, athletic director. The renovation, he added,
supports the college’s pursuit of “a level of excellence in athletics
that matches Whitman’s level of excellence in academics.”
Among the many donors who helped make this renovation possible, said
John Bogley, vice president for development, are The Sherwood Trust, the
Joseph L. Stubblefield Trust and the Clifford Braden Trust.
Sherwood now boasts an impressive brick exterior in addition to the many
additions and renovations inside the center that include a larger
training room, more lockers and more team-room space, a second gymnasium
with drop-down cages and hitting nets for the baseball and golf squads,
more dance/exercise rooms, and upgrades to the existing main gym,
racquetball and squash courts.
The new indoor climbing wall, which is managed through the Whitman
Outdoor Program (OP), is one of the most innovative walls in the
country, said Brien Sheedy, who helped design it. In addition to be
being OP director, Sheedy is a mountain climber who has scaled the Seven
Summits.
New skylights illuminate the multipurpose gym and the foyer, requiring
less energy use, and the new brick exterior not only makes Sherwood’s
appearance more like the rest of the campus buildings, but it also adds
to energy efficiency of the building.
End
CONTACT: Lenel Parish, Communications,
parishlj@whitman.edu; 527-5156
Dave Holden, Athletics,
holden@whitman.edu; 527-5902; or Angela
Torretta, Development and Alumni,
torretak@whitman.edu; 526-4794
