Mind over motor - Summer 2007 Wartburg Magazine - Wartburg College

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Mind over Motor by Roland Ferrie ’08

Wartburg has a special reason to celebrate the completion of the Wartburg-Waverly Sports & Wellness Center, said President Jack R. Ohle.

“The W was made possible through a unique partnership, which will benefit both Wartburg College and the City of Waverly,” Ohle explained.

Waverly Mayor Ivan “Ike” Ackerman agrees.

“The opening of The W marks what is perhaps the biggest and best demonstration of the wonderful ‘town and gown’ relationship enjoyed by Wartburg College and the community of Waverly,” he said. “This amazing facility will become a point of pride for our citizens.”

In addition to offering Schuldt Natatorium, Waverly’s first indoor aquatics center, a state of the art Fitness Center and a new local eatery, the Zesty Orange, the building is one of the largest and most advanced NCAA Division III facilities in the nation, Ohle said.

“The W is far more technologically advanced than the former Physical Education Center,” Ohle added. “It will be open more than 100 hours per week and offer dozens of fitness and wellness options.”

Jim Langel, executive director of The W, is excited about the possibilities the facility offers.

“We have everything under one roof,” he said.

The W has created more than 100 new full‑ and part-time jobs as well.

“I’m very proud to work with such an amazing staff and just as proud to be involved with this partnership between Wartburg and the community,” Langel said. “People keep saying ‘Wartburg and Waverly do things right,’ and this project is a great example of forward thinking and cooperation.”

Ferrie is a communication arts major from Cresco, Iowa.

To give perspective on the size and scale of The W, it’s important to note it could easily hold more than 133 1,500-square-foot houses.

Breaking it down
Natatorium: 173,000-gallon capacity (That’s more than 4,800 bathtubs full of water!)
25-yard regulation, six-lane pool
Zero-depth entry
Two-story orange water slide
Wet classroom adjacent to the pool

Power:
The W has incorporated at least 27 Leadership in Energy and Environmental (LEED) design aspects. LEED is the nationally recognized benchmark of design for construction of high efficiency buildings. These principles encourage and accelerate global adoption of sustainable “green” building practices.
Wartburg purchases wind energy to offset The W’s carbon footprint.

Hours:
The W is open more than 100 hours per week.

Construction:
An average of 75-80 workers were on site every day since construction began in March 2006.

Tech specs:
The W is air conditioned
The W’s roof spans almost three acres
The Hall of Champions stretches 166 yards
The building includes 62,000 square feet of synthetic floor surfaces
The W incorporates 25,000 square feet of wood flooring
A total of 515 lockers are available

The numbers:
20 basketball hoops
4 batting cages
1,800 capacity in Levick Arena
230 doors
1,600 fire sprinklers
7 miles of copper and cast iron pipe
1,650 tons of structural steel
6,000 cubic yards of concrete, or a 4’ wide 24-mile sidewalk