W&L Announces Indoor Athletics Facilities Transition Plan The Department of Physical Education, Athletics and Recreation will operate with the use of transitional spaces until the expected completion of the project for the start of the 2020-21 school year.

By Washington and Lee University
February 20, 2018

LEXINGTON, Va. – Washington and Lee University has announced that the Board of Trustees has approved the construction and restoration phase for the Richard L. Duchossois Athletic and Recreation Center, contingent upon the university raising the final $4.7 million by June 30 to reach its goal.

During this phase, the Department of Physical Education, Athletics and Recreation will operate with the use of transitional spaces until the expected completion of the project for the start of the 2020-21 school year. This transition will begin to take place during the second week of April 2018, as the department vacates the current Warner Center/Doremus complex to its new temporary office spaces in Baker Hall located on Washington Street.

Following the completion of commencement services on May 24, 2018, the university fitness center and Doremus Gymnasium will close for the summer as the restoration of the facility begins. The entire complex will be closed until mid-August when the fall athletics teams return to campus. Both the fitness center and Doremus Gym will reopen for the entire academic year, before closing once again for summer restorations following graduation in 2019. The entire building will go offline again for the spring term of 2020 for the final leg of the construction and restoration project.

When the facility is open, there will be no staff or physical education locker rooms and lockers available. There will also be no towel or laundry services. Additionally, once the facility goes offline this spring, the university racquetball and squash courts will be unavailable until the new facility opens in the summer of 2020.

The university will continue to offer recreation classes and recreation opportunities, which will be based out of the Student Activities Pavilion that is located between the Duchossois Tennis Center and Cap’n Dick Smith Baseball Field. W&L’s physical education classes will also be held in the pavilion.

For intercollegiate athletics, wrestling will continue to compete in Doremus Gym, while men’s and women’s basketball, and volleyball will be holding their contests on a temporary court within the Duchossois Tennis Center.

The Athletic Training Room in the Warner Center will also go offline this spring and Athletic Training will be based out of the Athletic Training Room at Wilson Field until the new facility opens.

The new Richard L. Duchossois Athletic and Recreation Center will encompass 165,489 square feet and will capture over 10,700 square feet of assignable space for new athletic and recreation programs. The project will also increase the square footage for the fitness center by 32 percent and will relocate and expand the wrestling room by over 84 percent. It will also allow the racquetball and squash courts to become regulation size, while doubling the scope of the athletic training facilities.

Other key features of the facility will include greater handicap accessibility, a showcase for the Athletic Hall of Fame, an increase in locker room amenities and features, expanded golf practice facilities, expanded multi-purpose facilities for group exercise, and improved offices for coaches and athletics staff.