For a long time, it was just a dream: a new community swimming pool for Rice Lake to replace the aging and outdated facility that continues to see heavy use, nearly a half-century after opening its doors. But the dream is now about seven months away from reality.
“We’re largely on time,” said Pat Blackaller of the Rice Lake Aquatic and Recreation Center, anticipating a March 2025 opening. After breaking ground last fall, work on the site behind the present pool, adjacent to Hilltop Elementary School, has been steady, with no serious supply-chain issues hampering construction.
For a long time, it was just a dream: a new community swimming pool for Rice Lake to replace the aging and outdated facility that continues to see heavy use, nearly a half-century after opening its doors. But the dream is now about seven months away from reality.
“We’re largely on time,” said Pat Blackaller of the Rice Lake Aquatic and Recreation Center, anticipating a March 2025 opening. After breaking ground last fall, work on the site behind the present pool, adjacent to Hilltop Elementary School, has been steady, with no serious supply-chain issues hampering construction.
“There’s always little things,” Blackaller said, “but nothing atypical of any other project.”
The new facility, covering 43,000 square feet, will feature two large pools, one with zero-depth entry, a slide and other play features. The other will be for competition and exercise, featuring eight 25-yard lanes, allowing Rice Lake High School to host WIAA-sanctioned meets. A grandstand will seat some 300 spectators, more than triple the current pool’s capacity. The entire facility will be a community recreation center, with a large court for basketball, volleyball and pickleball, plus a running/walking track on the second floor, along with rooms for physical training and meetings. [APG]
Winners of four Horizon League regular season titles and four NCAA Tournament appearances in the last five seasons, the Wright State volleyball team got its first look at a completely refreshed, new-look locker room on Wednesday.
The updated space, newly minted as the Gretchen W. Stephenson Family Locker Room, features all new graphics, including player of the year and historical walls, to document the program's history and success, along with a fueling station, a reconfigured locker area to maximize, separate and create additional space for the team to use throughout the day and a 'glam room' complete with mirrors and a vanity. [WSU Raiders]
Nevada athletics will unveil one major facility improvement next month and hopes to begin substantial progress toward another major build the month after that.
The $12 million Eric and Linda Lannes Basketball Building will open in September with the Wolf Pack hoping to have finalized plans for an all-sport Fieldhouse in October that would serve as an indoor football practice facility.
The project has been a white whale facility for Nevada since the turn of the century, but with Wolf Pack athletic director Stephanie Rempe now two years on the job, the department is narrowing in on a firm plan and cost for the project.[NSN]
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