La Salle College High School is in its last stages of fundraising to build a $35 million athletic center, auxiliary gym and fitness facility.
The center will be located adjacent to the school’s tennis courts and will feature “a multipurpose gym large enough for two basketball courts; an expansive weight room; four squash courts; a wrestling room, cardio room, and trainer’s room – all amply sized to meet our program’s needs – along with welcoming common areas and gathering spaces”, according to the project’s web page.
While final details are still under development, the building is expected to span tens of thousands of square feet.
“This stunning facility will give us the space our evolving extracurricular programs need and benefit every member of our school community,” Robert Zanneo, Athletic Administrator, said in a statement.
From the project’s purpose and impact descriptions:
To support a remarkably successful athletic program that has far outgrown available indoor space. With 47 teams in 19 different sports and 71 percent of all our students participating, Explorer athletics is an integral part of the La Salle experience. It provides unique opportunities for personal growth and teaches invaluable lessons in teamwork, dedication, and perseverance.
The Center will provide our teams with vastly expanded space, letting more athletes stay on campus and train in the seasons they need to, as well as earlier in the day. More boys will be home with their families for dinner more often. It will also provide a home to intramural sports, to individual students and staff interested in weight training and fitness, and to assemblies and events.
In 2023, construction began for a 5,000 sf addition to house the school’s David Program and a 7,000 sf facility that adjoins the school’s main academic building.
In related news, Brother James Butler, La Salle College’s president for the past 14 years, was interviewed by The Philadelphia Business Journal earlier this month regarding his tenure and various projects planned for the coming year.
An excerpt:
How have you seen the school change over your time there?
I think it continues to evolve for the better. I see the students as extremely focused on what their future will be and how to pursue their goals. We have an optional program here called concentrations, which are similar to undergraduate majors. Students are allowed to combine specialized coursework with experiential learning and internships to really get a sense of what a career is like. We haven’t become narrow and vocational, but we’ve become more future-conscious by helping students understand what their future might hold before they make a commitment.
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Renderings: togetherasbrothers.org