By: Nick King
The fledging Bellarmine University wrestling program has a new place to call its home. The team recently renovated an old church into a wrestlers’ paradise at 3408 Newburg Road. This program essentially had nothing; no facility, no locker room and no designated practice times. This team had to roll wrestling mats out on the Bellarmine student recreation center (SuRF) floor. From rolling mats out on basketball courts and showering in the public lorckerrooms to owning their own 15,000-square-foot space is a dream come true for the wrestlers.
Wrestling coach Spencer Adams said: “The whole atmosphere is different. It helps set the tone at practice. It’s not like you are throwing something together. Where we were before was like we were living in a trailer in comparison to having a house of your own. You are not just throwing something together for practice, you are established.”
This complex as a whole is definitely a sight to see. These renovations will not only draw a crowd to the matches, but the facility will also help recruit of future Knights.
Why did the school pay for such a spectacular wrestling facility instead of putting this money toward an established team that has virtually nothing? Faculty and students may wonder why this money wasn’t put toward Coach John Brucato’s swim teams. These teams have been around since 2012, but the teams do not have a complex of their own. Why?
The answer to this question is actually very simple: money. Investing in and maintaining a collegiate pool is not financially feasible. Purchasing or renovating a collegiate swim complex would cost around $4.5 million for 31,000 square feet. The new wrestling complex cost only $500,000 for 15,000 square feet.
“Ultimately, this complex made Bellarmine more functional and it wasn’t a fortune,” said Vice President for Administration and Finance Bob Zimlich. Simply put Bellarmine University hasn’t raised the amount of money needed for such a complex.
In the renovation process for the new complex, everyone can reap the benefits. The SuRF is clustered nightly with dance, wrestling, intramural teams practicing, and members of the student body working out there. How would Bellarmine benefit the most while spending the least amount of money? With this new complex, the wrestling team will no longer have to practice in the SuRF, nor will the dance team, thus freeing up extensive amounts of space for students.
“Everything is booked. Every team is trying to use the SuRF.” Zimlich said, “We bought this complex so these varsity athletic teams couldn’t reserve the SuRF at all hours of the day. This way the SuRF is freed up more for on-campus student use. Renovating half of this church gives a third back to the general student population.”
SuRF employee Evan Kalish said: “It opens up more availability in the afternoons to get on the basketball courts for pickup games because it is not clustered with the wrestling team.”
Also, this complex could be used when it is below freezing outside and teams need to practice indoors.
“The new wrestling facility is amazing,” Wrestler Dan Sheridan said. “It looks fantastic and has everything we need to improve as a team, including plenty of room to practice. Everyone seems more focused and eager to start practice when we step into the building.”
These renovations not only excite the wrestling team, but should encourage students to watch more matches. The Knights would love your support in their upcoming season as their current season is coming to an end with their trip to the regionals.