
		Public Relations
	Cassie Rial, Early Childhood Education
		Monday, May 12, 2008

Construction Update
OBU Wellness Center
(Updated October 15, 2007)

Work is progressing on Oklahoma Baptist University's new Wellness Center, which is scheduled to open in November 2007. Click on one of the links below for updates on construction progress on the facility, as well as work on other projects which are part of OBU's "The Winning Spirit" Campaign. The Wellness Center will be dedicated in a pre-opening ceremony on Friday, Nov. 9, during OBU's Homecoming Celebration. University officials anticipate that the facility will open for use in late November.

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The wellness center is OBU’s largest capital construction project, with a price tag of $9.62 million. The investment will yield a 59,000-square-foot structure featuring three basketball/volleyball courts, scores of cardiovascular workout stations, an indoor walking/jogging track, three new racquetball courts, an aerobic studio, classrooms, offices, and a two-story climbing wall. The collection of wellness resources is designed to provide students with opportunities to augment their physical growth during their college years. The center also will be a resource for faculty and staff members, as well as a setting for special events throughout the academic year.

The facility replaces Clark Craig Fieldhouse, which arrived at OBU in 1948 after the university purchased it from Camp Maxey military base in Paris, Texas. For the next 56 years, it would serve as home for varsity basketball teams, a makeshift indoor training facility for spring sports squads, and a special event center. By the late 1990s, it became evident to OBU officials that the structure would need to be replaced in the near future.

Moving forward with plans for the two-story contemporary facility, OBU razed Clark Craig in late January 2006. The wide spanning sections of the decaying roof fell like dominoes in a line, crumbling over ground where the 1966 Bison basketball team, led by coach Bob Bass and legendary Al Tucker, stormed to OBU’s only NAIA basketball championship. Varsity sports will not be the focal point for the building constructed on the Clark Craig footprint. The wellness center is designed for the general campus community. However, varsity athletes will benefit from several elements of The Winning Spirit Campaign, which represents an investment of $14.4 million in a collection of projects.

Expansion of the Noble Complex for Athletics, a new track and field facility, a new baseball park with locker room and workout facilities, and an expanded track practice facility and locker room building will directly affect Bison and Lady Bison programs. The Noble Complex renovation will provide expanded space for classrooms, athletic training, varsity sports weight lifting facilities, and faculty and athletic offices.

The new varsity track and field facility will include an eight-lane track, expanding from the seven-lane track OBU has used for many years. The new facility will be located at the corner of MacArthur Street and Airport Road. In addition to the track facility, OBU’s current baseball/softball building, on University Street, has been expanded by 4,125 square feet, as it becomes the home of the indoor and outdoor track teams. The new track building will provide locker rooms and coaches’ offices, and will offer 7,725 square feet of indoor practice space. The additional space includes a raised ceiling, allowing pole vaulters to practice indoors. For OBU track and field coach Ford Mastin, the additions may raise the level of expectation for a program which has a long-running tradition of strength, despite the lack of its own indoor facilities.

OBU Track and Field has won three of the University’s four NAIA national championships. In addition to the national team championships, OBU has earned four national runner-up finishes, numerous national top 10 finishes, nearly 50 event championships, and scores of All-American honors.

To accommodate the new track and field facilities, OBU’s baseball team has moved to a location on the north campus. The Bison B allpark opened in February 2007, and will be joined by a new locker room and workout facility. While there was initial concern about leaving a field which has experienced significant upgrades in recent years, as the new park takes shape, it promises to be one of the finest small college facilities in the region. The ballpark includes bricked dugouts, and an arched brick entryway replicating the historic arches at the east end of University Street.

Relocation of the track also led to relocation of OBU’s intramural fields. Lighted intramural fields have replaced Worten Field, OBU’s historic track facility, just west of Agee Residence Center. The fields are used for flag football, soccer, softball, ultimate Frisbee, and sand volleyball competition.

The Noble Complex, which opened in 1982, is being expanded by nearly 17,000 square feet, and an additional 13,000 square feet of existing area in the athletic complex will be renovated. The project will include construction of new locker rooms and offices for men’s and women’s basketball, and a 3,125-square-foot event space overlooking the west end of the 2,400-seat Mabee Arena.

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