The Berry Sports Center: "A real shot in the arm"

Construction could begin as early as next spring on the John W. Berry Sports Center, but it doesn't appear likely.

The total cost of the Center is estimated at $16.5 million. John W. Berry '44 gave $5 million the largest gift ever made to the College's athletic department toward the structure in June. Athletic director Ted Leland says $6.2 million had been raised as of early October.

"We're excited about how the fund raising is going, but this fall and winter are critical," he says. "We need the building so desperately and at the same time construction costs are escalating. Every year it's delayed there will be a seven to ten percent escalation in cost," Leland points out.

The Center will be built on the site where Davis Rink is currently located. It will feature a 2,500-seat basketball pavilion, seven squash courts, six racquetball courts, a 5,000-square-foot weight training and conditioning facility, four varsity locker rooms, a student lounge, and a ticket office. Davis Varsity House will be converted to house all sports administrative offices.

"This will be a tremendous improvement to the quality of life for everyone at Dartmouth," Leland says. "The facility will be just as much for the middleaged professor and the freshman student as the football or women's basketball player."

Leland uses the weight training room as a prime example. The present weight room consists of 400 square feet. College statistics show that during the 1983-84 school year, the weight room was used 40,000 times by athletes, students, faculty, administrators, and other College employees.

The new weight training room will cover 5,000 square feet and Leland expects use of the facility to double. "It will be a real shot in the arm to our intercollegiate athletic program."