Photo courtesy of Juster Pope Frazier Architects
By Bei Jia Viggiano ’28
Sports Editor
Major Kendall Sports and Dance Complex renovations are underway at Mount Holyoke College. Following President Danielle Holley’s message to the community last May, this year will see Kendall undergo major redesigns and renovations of the gymnasium and locker room. Additionally, there are plans to renew and introduce equipment that will improve the experience of student-athletes.
Director of Athletics Andrea Ricketts-Preston said in an interview with Mount Holyoke News that the idea for the project pre-dated her employment at the College, but “at that time, it was in concept, it wasn’t in process.” This allowed time to consider the long-term effects of the project and revise the process for a greater impact.
The $6 million investment has been outlined in three phases: Phase 1A, Phase 1B and Phase 2. The process began on January 27, when some locker rooms and offices were closed and relocated for the purposes of renovation. Phase 1A commenced with construction impacting the men’s locker room, all-gender locker room, women’s staff locker room, basement offices, ergometer room and Kendall Multipurpose Room. During Phase 1B, which began in late February and will conclude in June, the upstairs gymnasium will be closed until completion. Phase 2 is scheduled from June 2025 to January 2026, when the varsity and women’s locker room, as well as the Field House Lounge, will be closed. In August 2025, the basement suite of locker rooms, the Multipurpose Room and the ergometer room will open. The project is set to be completed by January 2026.
“The original project didn't include a gym renovation,” Ricketts-Preston said. “It included some relocation of facilities here that at the end of the day, just didn’t really make sense from an accessibility standpoint.” Ricketts-Preston and Associate Vice President for Facilities Management Karla Youngblood FP ’99 reviewed the original plan and made revisions that resulted in “maximum impact across all of our sports and came in at a much cheaper price tag than the original plan, with a greater building impact,” Ricketts-Preston said. The gymnasium became a focal point of the project, with plans to have it completely renovated. Ricketts-Preston explained that the gymnasium has an “outdated, archaic setup” due to the nature of the courts and bleachers, and it was a “no-brainer” to include it in the project.
“It’s a 78-working days project to do the gym renovation. We’ll have bleachers on both sides, the basketball court will be centered, all the colors and branding will be on par, in alignment with all of our branding initiatives as it relates to Mount Holyoke in our athletic department.”
The locker room and offices in Kendall are also set for extensive renovations and redesign. “The entire space downstairs is being renovated to include three locker rooms, two offices and a new, updated rowing room, which will be really exciting,” Ricketts-Preston said. “And then upstairs, we’ll have faculty, staff locker rooms. We’ll have community space. We’ll have varsity locker rooms for all of our teams, and then we’ll also have an all-gender locker room for our Varsity student athletes, and we’ll have an all-gender locker room for our community members.” Ricketts-Preston added that she was especially proud of Mount Holyoke’s commitment to maintaining that aspect of the plan and “staying true to our mission, vision and values.”
While athletic equipment is set to be renewed to improve the student-athlete experience, Ricketts-Preston remarked on another significant piece of equipment that would be added to the gymnasium infrastructure. “This project is allowing us to put air conditioning in as part of the geothermal project, which is going to be very exciting,” Ricketts-Preston said. “From a community impact perspective, that will have a significant positive impact in our opportunity to hold camps and clinics in the summer, not only for the Mount Holyoke community, but for also the South Hadley and Pioneer Valley community.”
“So whether you're taking a beginning swimming class or you're taking Walking for Fitness, or you're taking an advanced level weight training class, our facilities will be improved for our community members to use,” Ricketts-Preston said. “That will mean that people [also] have a better experience when they're coming in and using our facility.”
Alayna Khan '27 contributed fact-checking.