While the Wellesley Sports Center planned for 900 Worcester St., has garnered plenty of attention across town, did you know Babson College has a huge recreational facility plan in the works as well? Construction has already started on a precursor to that complex in the form of fancy new tennis courts where a woodland area used to be behind the ice skating rink and Boston Sports Club, as seen above.
Babson’s eight new courts, with lighting and plenty of spectator seating, will replace the ones currently next to the Webster Athletic Center by the start of the school’s 2018 tennis season in the spring.
Webster, meanwhile, is set for a major renovation as part of what the school is calling the Babson Recreation and Athletics Center (BRAC) — “a truly transformative facility for years to come”. A new multipurpose facility that at 176,870 sq. ft. will be twice the size of Webster, is being designed to support varsity, intramural and recreational sports programs as well as other large scale campus events. Extensive space will be devoted to fitness equipment, yoga and other exercise studios, and sports medicine facilities.
Construction is slated to start this fall and finish by the fall of 2019, though Webster (built in 1989) will remain open throughout, except for next summer.
We haven’t come across a price tag for the project, but Babson naturally is hitting up alums to help pay the tab, with numerous naming opportunities available. Among those promoting the project will be Mike Lynch, the longtime Boston University athletics administrator Babson named as its Director of Athletics and Athletic Advancement earlier this year.
You can see artists’ depictions of the planned project here.
As for that 900 Worcester St. Wellesley Sports Center project? It’s slated to open next year after a groundbreaking later this year.
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