Investing in the Stoddard Fitness and Well-Being Center
• The Need
• The Investment
• Well-Being at Bates
• Bates Athletics
• How you can help
Virtual Tour and Testimonials
Our Students’ Need
Fitness Spaces — Over 80 percent of Bates students use fitness facilities on the Bates campus: varsity and club athletes, recreation enthusiasts, and students pursuing wellness activities for the first time in their lives.
Our current fitness spaces, divided between Merrill Gymnasium and Underhill Arena, are maxed out, often reaching total capacity during peak times, with an average of 450 students using the fitness center daily. This overcrowding reduces the effectiveness and enjoyment of workouts and makes the space less welcoming for regular users and beginners alike.
Prospective students who visit Bates, whether online or in person, expect to see well-designed and visually appealing fitness spaces; such facilities can drive home a college’s commitment to supporting athletic excellence and a student’s overall experience.
2,600
students, faculty
and staff
31
varsity
teams
13
club
teams
56
coaches and
trainers
The Investment
Bates is embarking on a $45 million project that will transform existing athletics facilities and add a state-of-the-art fitness and well-being center, more than doubling the amount of fitness space available to the campus community. The Stoddard Fitness and Well-Being Center will bridge the historic and beloved Alumni Gym and Clifton Daggett Gray Athletic Building — both of which will undergo significant renovations and infrastructure upgrades — The Stoddard Fitness and Well-Being Center will be located at the heart of campus, equidistant from Commons, Ladd Library, and the newly renovated Chase Hall.
Centered on 8,500 square feet of new fitness space overlooking the Library Quad, Bates proposes a major facility enhancement of historic Alumni Gymnasium and Clifton Daggett Gray Athletic Building.
The new center will support students pursuing their personal health and fitness goals, allowing for improved regular workouts as well as varsity and club athletes seeking to be as physically healthy as possible for their next big game, match, or race.
The facility will offer vital new coaching, program spaces, and locker rooms that meet the contemporary needs of Bates athletics and our student-athletes.
“In the years ahead, we must focus on thoughtfully and intentionally preparing our students to lead and serve for the benefit of industry, disciplines, organizations, and communities. This will involve taking a good look at how we invest in those areas — particularly in co-curricular programs, community-engaged work, the arts, and athletics, fitness, and wellness — that help our students grow; help them nourish and sustain habits and practices for a healthy and well-rounded life; and help them build character to become leaders in all walks of life. “
Bates President Garry W. Jenkins, 2024
Well-Being at Bates
Well-Being at Bates is a comprehensive program designed to support students’ overall health. It offers resources and programs that focus on nine different dimensions of well-being, including physical, mental, social, financial, and occupational. The program aims to equip students with the skills and habits they need to succeed in college and beyond.
“This signature space is intentionally designed to reflect Bates’ holistic commitment to student well-being. Whether they’re competing as part of a Division III team or focusing on their personal fitness and health goals, all Bates students will benefit from this new facility.”
Rosanna Ferro, Vice President for Student Affairs
Bates Athletics
In the last decade, Bates has steadily and intentionally improved athletics and fitness facilities to enhance the student experience, from varsity athletes to students participating in club and intramural sports, as well as those who are working on their personal fitness and well-being goals. Since 2016, with the support of generous donors, the college has completed more than a dozen projects including new locker rooms, an expansion of sports medicine spaces, dynamic scoreboards, improvements to Davis Fitness Center and Alumni Gym, and the installation of lights for night play at Russell Street Field.
Together this work represents a $70 million investment — supported by the college and hundreds of donors. This era of addressing these needs began with the 2016 construction of the Traquina Boathouse on the shores of the Androscoggin River in Greene and will culminate with the opening of the Stoddard Fitness and Well-Being Center, planned for late 2027.
Read on to learn more about these varied projects, dating back to 2016, that helped build energy for the Stoddard Center for Fitness and Well-Being. Plus, one more improvement now underway. Momentum matters.
2016: Traquina Boathouse
Home of the Bates rowing teams, this $3 million facility is located several miles north of campus on the shores of the Androscoggin River in the town of Greene. It was funded by Bates families, including a leadership gift from Perry and Robin Traquina P’13, P’17, and their daughters Meredith ’13 and Katherine ’17. It opened in 2016.
2016: Campus Avenue Field
The home of Bates field hockey since 2000, this game surface was upgraded with artificial turf and an irrigation system in 2016.
2018: Alumni Gymnasium
The beloved building, which opened in 1928, was upgraded in 2018 with a new basketball court floor, bleachers, and stanchions for the hoops.
2019: Merrill Gymnasium
Sports medicine facilities in this 1979 building had been limited to an 800-square foot space. The facilities were renovated and expanded in summer 2019.
2019: Underhill Arena
This 1995 building received an upgrade in 2019 when a removable modular turf system was added. When the ice surface isn’t needed in the arena, the turf adds an indoor option for teams, including football and lacrosse, and clubs to practice on.
2021: Davis Fitness Center
Upgrades and updates, including a changed layout, new equipment and flooring were added to this busy fitness facility, which serves about 450 people a day, in 2021.
2021: Underhill Arena
Locker rooms for football and lacrosse were renovated.
2022: Russell Street track
All new surface made by Mondo, an Italian firm that specializes in track and field facilities, was added, the first time the track had been resurfaced in 20 years. At the same time, the steeplechase water jump was adjusted to comply with new NCAA rules.
2023: Garcelon Field
This classic facility, well used and well loved by many students and multiple teams, was resurfaced with improved artificial turf in 2023.
2023: Tarbell Pool locker rooms
The swimming and diving locker rooms in Merrill Gymnasium underwent a major renovation, doubling in size.
2024: Russell Street Field
This complex was renovated to add a multipurpose turf (similar to that on Garcelon), allowing year-round varsity, club, and recreational use, and to install stadium lights, creating opportunities for evening games and practices.
2024: Leahey Field
The baseball team’s home field underwent an overhaul, with artificial turf added to allow winter playing time, and enhancements to the existing pro-style dugouts.
2025: Garcelon Field scoreboard
Debuted at the 150 Years of Football Celebration, the new scoreboard features live video, a high-resolution LED display, and a customized color scheme.
2026: Leahey Field
Improvements on the baseball field continued, with the addition of a backstop and a seating concourse from dugout-to-dugout, improved accessibility, and the foundation for a future press box.
2026: The Stoddard Fitness and Well-Being Center
Ground was broken May 1 on this striking $45 million facility facing onto Ladd Library quad. It will more than double the current fitness and well-being space on campus and include improvements to the Alumni Gym and the Clifton Daggett Gray Athletic Building, while respecting both those venerable and much-loved buildings. The project is expected to be complete by late 2027.
2026: Lafayette Street Field
The softball field is getting a new turf surface, backstop, fencing, and scoreboard to be introduced for the 2027 season.
“This facility reflects Bates’s commitment to athletic excellence and holistic well-being for all. By bringing together wellness, fitness, recreation, and varsity athletics, it will strengthen our sense of community and empower every student to pursue their best self — whether competing among the best in the nation or thriving in everyday life — a cornerstone of the Bates experience.”
Stacey L. Bunting P’29, Director of Athletics
Call to Action
We invite you to join us in a significant, highly visible, and strategic effort to expand the fitness and wellness spaces on the Bates campus.
Your support will enhance the collegiate experience for our students and help attract talented prospective students to Bates.
Thank you for considering this vital investment in our community and our future.
GET IN TOUCH:
If you’re interested in learning more or making a gift, please contact:
Seth Williams
Director of Leadership Gifts
swilliams2@bates.edu
207-755-5988
OFFICE OF COLLEGE ADVANCEMENT
1-888-522-8371
batesfund@bates.edu
