Photo / Colby College
An architect's drawing showing the outside of Colby College's new $200 million athletic complex, which was approved by the Waterville Planning Board Monday night.
June 6, 2017
Colby's $200M sports complex gets green light
Courtesy / Colby College
An architect's rendering showing what the Olympic-size swimming pool will look like when Colby College's $200 million athletic complex is competed in 2020.
The Waterville Planning Board unanimously approved on Monday Colby College’s plans for a $200 million, 350,000-square-foot athletic complex that includes an Olympic-size pool and an indoor track.
The Waterville Sentinel reported that construction is set to begin this summer, with the new athletic complex expected to be ready for occupancy in 2020. When the new complex is opened, the current Alfond Athletic Center would be demolished to create green space, the newspaper reported.
In a recent news release, Colby College described the athletic complex as “the largest single project in its history,” and noted that in addition to hosting Division III college sports events the facility will be a resource for Colby students and athletes in Waterville, Maine and New England.
“Colby has a long tradition of athletic excellence, dating back to the 1950s and ‘60s with the construction of what became the Harold Alfond Athletic Center,” Colby President David A. Greene said in the release. “Six decades later, we have reimagined how we can support the Colby and broader communities with an exceptional new competition and recreational facility.”
In addition to the state’s only Olympic-sized pool and the indoor competition center with a 200-meter track, the new complex will include:
- A multi-level, 13,500-square-foot fitness center, connected to new spaces for yoga and other fitness classes
- A state-of-the-art squash competition center
- New space for athletic trainers, coaching and team-gatherings
- An environmentally sound design that includes a compact footprint, renewable energy and ecologically responsible landscaping.
Work began in late 2016 to move and build new outdoor fields for competition and practice, which are expected to be completed for use this fall.
In its news release, Colby anticipates that the new complex will contribute $1 million annually to Waterville “through increased visitors staying in the city and frequenting local businesses.”
“Colby’s athletics facilities have a long tradition of serving as a home for local and regional teams and community users,” said Colby Vice President of Planning Brian Clark. “The new athletics complex will expand on this commitment and along with outstanding facilities such as the nearby Quarry Road and the Kennebec Messalonskee Trails, will help to make Waterville a true destination for athletics.”
Photo / Colby College
A drawing showing the outdoor athletic fields that will be part of Colby's $200 million athletic complex.
Colby currently hosts more than a dozen local teams that use its baseball and softball complex for early games and its basketball court is frequently used by community organizations. Its ice arena is used by many high school and youth hockey teams.
The new athletic complex is one of many investments Colby is making in the Waterville community. Other projects include the $25 million, 100,000-square-foot Colby College residential and retail complex in downtown Waterville.
Donors have taken note: In February 2017 philanthropists Peter and Paula Lunder gave $100 million to the college's art museum, and real estate executive and Colby graduate Joe Boulos and his wife, Sheri, donated $10 million toward the new athletic center.
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