Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WINONA LAKE - An idea that started as a Kosciusko Leadership Academy White Paper Project broke ground Thursday at the Miller Athletic Complex on the Grace College campus.
Speaking on the Community Fieldhouse, Grace President Dr. Drew Flamm acknowledged, “This vision was first put forward by the Kosciusko Leadership Academy group and their ‘Fieldhouse of Dreams’ White Paper, and that provided the playbook that we needed to move forward. Your work helped us confirm that nearly 90% of our community felt a deep need for more indoor recreational space and today we are officially answering that call.”
During the 2022-23 KLA year, the team of Denny Harlan, Chad Hummel, Carol McGregor and Angie Summers worked on their White Paper Project titled “Fieldhouse of Dreams.” According to the executive summary of the project, the Fieldhouse of Dreams was proposed as a means to focus on impacting the early years of youth health and wellness development, leading to lifelong habits for individuals, creating an annual economic boost to the county and filling the gap that inclement weather creates for northern Indiana throughout the year. The project received the Trustee Award, which included $1,000 to go toward making the project a reality, at the KLA graduation ceremony in April 2023.
Kicking off the ground-breaking ceremony Thursday for the Community Fieldhouse at Grace College, Grace College Vice President of Advancement John Sloat said, “Today’s ceremony marks the beginning of a project that is absolutely unique in its scope. While this fieldhouse will certainly provide our Lancer athletes with a premiere space to train, practice and compete, its primary heartbeat is found in its name: Community.”
He said the facility is designed “first and foremost as a gift to our neighbors. It will be a year-round hub for local families, youth sports and gatherings. A place where the ties between Grace College and our region grow even stronger.”
Grace’s vision for the facility is for it to serve as a key entry point to the Grace campus, Sloat stated, where people of all ages can gather, stay active and experience the hospitality and mission of Grace College.
“We’re deeply grateful for the generosity of donors and partners who recognize that in building this fieldhouse we’re not just adding a building to our campus, we are creating a vital resource for our entire community. We celebrate God’s goodness in providing the means to serve our neighbors in such a tangible and lasting way,” he said.
After a prayer by Grace Board of Trustees Chair Dan Renner, Flamm said, “Looking around this site, I’m reminded of how the Miller Field Complex has really transformed over the last decade, from 1st Source Bank Field, that is right behind us, about 10 years ago, to the Bernard and Linnie Key Track and Field Complex to our right, to Coach Phil Dick Memorial Field for our softball team and just this last fall Tom Roy UPI Park. And today we take another historic step forward in the building out of Miller Field.”
He said the project is unique because not only will the Lancer athletes benefit from the state-of-the-art weight room and the fitness area, the primary purpose of the Community Fieldhouse is found in being about the community.
“It’s designed to help our neighbors. We envision a fieldhouse that’s a key area year-round for community engagement where we can stay active together,” Flamm said.
The Community Fieldhouse is an $11.55 million investment. He said an investment of that magnitude only happens with “incredible” supporters. He extended Grace’s gratitude to a number of partners, including the Lilly Endowment, 1st Source Bank, Remodel Health, OrthoWorx through the Orthopedic Industry Retention Initiative (OIRI), the North East Regional Development Authority, K21 Health Foundation and “so many alumni and local partners who stepped up to make this a reality.”
Flamm mentioned the project does not yet have a naming gift attached to it and that donations are still being accepted, big and small. The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Community Fieldhouse will take place in about 12 months.
“When this facility opens, it’ll feature a U12 indoor turf soccer field, six indoor batting cages, eight outdoor pickleball courts with lights. It will be a place where wellness and the spirit of togetherness can thrive 365 days a year, regardless of the Indiana weather, but especially on days like today,” Flamm stated. “We will celebrate God’s goodness in providing the resource like this to serve our neighbors in such a tangible and lasting way.”
The Community Fieldhouse is a feature of the Catalyst Corridor, funded by a $27 million grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. through its initiative, College and Community Collaboration. The Catalyst Corridor Project is a series of initiatives in Warsaw and Winona Lake that fall into four themes: innovation initiatives, wellbeing amenities, connection ways and enhanced placemaking, according to a 2024 news release from Grace. Grace worked closely with the town of Winona Lake and the city of Warsaw, along with many community partners, to develop the Catalyst Corridor Project and proposal.
Executive Director of the Catalyst Corridor Dr. Emi Kreklau said Thursday, “This is the first official groundbreaking for the Catalyst Corridor Project and hopefully there will be more to come. ... The vision and the spirit of Catalyst Corridor is all about college and community working together to collaborate and to invest in the lives of our neighbors, and by working together to create a vibrant future for all of us.”
She recognized and thanked the many partners who played a part in visioning, planning, designing and preparing for the project to become a reality, starting with the ALL IN Kosciusko team made up of OrthoWorx, KEDCO, Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce, Kosciusko County, the city of Warsaw, town of Winona Lake, DreamOn Studios, K21 Health Foundation, Kosciusko County Community Foundation and Kosciusko YMCA. She gave a special thanks to state Rep. Craig Snow for his leadership and support.
Kreklau thanked the partners who helped turn the vision for the Community Fieldhouse into actual design, drawings, construction plans and construction: Design Collaborative, Weigand Construction and LeMaster Steel Erectors.
“So the Catalyst Corridor is a collection of community partnership and collaboration projects. One of those projects is with the KCV (Kosciusko County Velo) club here in Winona Lake, and one of the Catalyst Corridor projects is supporting them in building a Winona Lake Bike Park,” she continued. “In addition to helping them pay off the land mortgage for that project, and contributing a million dollars in funds from Catalyst Corridor for building the bike park, you can also say that we’re making a million-dollar in-kind donation to that project in that all of the dirt that’s going to be excavated from the fieldhouse site is going to go across the street and get used to help build the bike park. That’s collaboration.”
KCV held a groundbreaking ceremony for phase II of the bike park following the groundbreaking ceremony of the fieldhouse.
“We are so excited about the impact of the fieldhouse and the bike park and a lot more community projects to come in the coming year,” Kreklau concluded.
To contribute to the Community Fieldhouse, visit www.grace.edu/give-to-grace/current-projects/.
To learn more about the KCV bike park and how to get involved, go to kcvcycling.org/blog/kosciusko-county-bike-park-learn-ride-connect/.
