ALL IN. UW-Stout and community officials, students, alumni and other dignitaries take part in an official groundbreaking for the Recreation Complex renovation on April 30. (Submitted photos)
A $31.7 million renovation of University of Wisconsin-Stout’s Recreation Complex will transform the facility and provide more than 39,000 square feet of new and remodeled space for student health, fitness and wellbeing.
Campus leaders, alumni, legislators and students were among those who took part in the official groundbreaking for the project at the campus Sports & Fitness Center on Thursday, April 30.
Chancellor Katherine Frank said the project came about because of a combination of student initiative and donor generosity. Students voted to support this project in 2019 and again in 2022 through student fees, and Dallas and Edye Pankowski donated $5 million to support the project.
“We often talk about UW-Stout’s Polytechnic Mission – and at the heart of that mission is student success,” Frank said. “This renovation will support student success by prioritizing student health and wellness through modern, accessible recreation and athletic spaces.”
The transformative project, which is already underway and is expected to be completed by early 2028, will add nearly 12,000 square feet of recreation space and renovate an additional 28,000 square feet at the facility, which was built in 1963.
The renovation includes turning a decommissioned pool into a multipurpose gym, relocating the athletic weight room to the current fitness center and then converting the previous weight room into multi-use studios, expanding and upgrading locker rooms, creating a second-floor addition with multi-use courts, and creating a new entrance and atrium to attract and welcome visitors.
This design rendering shows the interior of the addition to UW-Stout’s Sports & Fitness Center. Below is the future entrance to UW-Stout’s Sports & Fitness Center which will be named in honor of donors Dallas and Edye Pankowski.
The latter space will be named in honor of the Pankowskis: Dallas, an alum, and Edye, a Menomonie native he met when she worked at UW-Stout. Their $5 million gift, the largest in the university’s history, will help students and other community members develop and maintain active lives. The couple said their own dedication to physical activity has allowed them to pursue rigorous adventures around the world, from the glaciers of Greenland to the base camp of Mount Everest.
“We know that Stout has world-class laboratories to complement their ‘learn by doing’ philosophy,” Dallas Pankowski said. “This updated remodeling and addition to the gym facility will take a just adequate building and make it an outstanding facility. Stout is a school committed to progress.”
“The end result will be a renovated building that reflects a commitment to health and wellbeing in support of our campus and broader community.”
CHANCELLOR KATHERINE FRANK
UW-STOUT
UW-Stout Senior Facilities Officer Justin Utpadel said he is among the numerous UW-Stout alumni who benefited from using the Sports and Fitness Center for fitness, recreation, stress relief and to form connections with other students. However, over the years, it became clear that the building needed significant upgrades.
“Over time, the building’s infrastructure, layout, and capacity have struggled to keep pace with student demand, modern standards, and evolving expectations for recreation and wellness,” Utpadel said. “This renovation directly addresses those challenges.”
The project will benefit not only the thousands of community members who come through the facility’s doors annually for sporting events and youth programs but also UW-Stout student athletes.
Just before 20 campus and community representatives donned hard hats and ceremonially turned over shovelfuls of soil, Chancellor Frank offered thanks for the collective effort that is bringing the project from drawing board to reality.
“The end result will be a renovated building that reflects a commitment to health and wellbeing in support of our campus and broader community,” she said.
Chancellor Katherine Frank, pictured.
Read the full article, originally published by the University of Wisconsin-Stout, online. This article has been edited for publication through Volume One.