As finishing touches are being put on the construction of Marquette’s new Wellness and Helfaer Recreation Facility, anticipation for its future use is high. Set to open in January 2025, the new addition to campus could serve as a beacon of community, connecting both the university and the greater Milwaukee area through sport.
The Helfaer Facility is designed to promote student wellness, much like the newly built Lemonis Center for Student Success. It will consolidate several scattered campus resources into one space, bringing together the counseling and medical centers with a fitness facility that offers gyms, equipment and even a pool.
Though currently described primarily as a resource for the wellness of the Marquette community, the facility holds immense potential to serve a broader Milwaukee community’s fitness needs. Through Marquette’s recreational sports department, connections can be made with existing recreational organizations around the city, opening up new possibilities for collaboration.
Marquette’s location in the heart of Milwaukee makes it an ideal setting to foster community beyond the university campus. This can manifest in various ways when it comes to recreational sports, from hosting sponsored events to allowing local organizations to rent space within the facility. Through a potential collaboration with an existing organization, the impact of the new building will be enhanced.
Milwaukee has its own recreational program through Milwaukee Public Schools, offering activities for people of all ages, from adult sports leagues to after-school care for children. Milwaukee Recreation operates through community centers, schools and outdoor spaces—resources that Marquette could provide in the event of a partnership.
A collaboration between Marquette and Milwaukee Recreation could seamlessly blend the two communities. New programs could be developed at the university level to serve the greater Milwaukee population, such as offering periodic sports workshops for local children. Currently, the temporary rec center in Straz Tower offers swim lessons for both children and adults—an initiative that could both thrive and expand in the new facility.
With the expansion of space provided by the new building, there’s significantly more room to offer other types of recreational sports lessons.
There could even be a kids’ league, coached by Marquette students and rec sports officials, providing valuable experience for students while fostering deeper community ties. Expansion programs like these would promote Marquette recreational sports and increase on-campus engagement with the department.
Maximizing the potential of the space would enhance Marquette’s role in the Milwaukee community, reinforcing its spot as a token to the Milwaukee area. Uplifting community members while maintaining the facility’s overarching goal of promoting wellness uplifts Marquette’s mission to nurture community and provide public service.
The basis of the fitness side of the facility is arguably built upon community, especially when focusing on sports, which inherently promote togetherness and collaboration. Furthering this through enhanced recreational sports programming will allow people to express themselves without the pressure of performance, while also building meaningful connections rooted in teamwork. Having programs that expand to younger age groups beyond campus could only benefit the greater community.
In 2022, the former Helfaer Recreation Center hosted an adaptive sports event in collaboration with Marquette’s Adaptive Abilities Club and Wisconsin’s Adaptive Sports Association. The objective was to inspire the Marquette community to try different adaptive sports; the event included basketball, rugby, lacrosse and tennis, which were all modified to suit wheelchair users.
Not only was this a community building opportunity, it was also a learning experience for those who may have never given previous thought to the importance of accessible sports. This was the club’s first collaboration with WASA, as construction on the new facility began a month later. These are the types of events that will engage the community and provide mutually beneficial relationships that intertwine the campus with its city.
Providing a foundation for community through sport is only part of the facility’s potential, but its impact could go so much further with the ability to collaborate with the city.
This story was written by Lilly Peacock. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @lillypeacockMU.
