Fitness center to receive outdoor makeover

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Siuta B. Ika
  • 49th Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Engineers and leadership with the 49th Civil Engineering and Contracting Squadrons, along with Col. David Krumm, 49th Wing commander, held a Groundbreaking Ceremony for the new outdoor fitness complex Nov.2.

The ceremony was held at the new fitness pavilion construction site across the street from the Domenici Fitness and Sports Center where the new outdoor complex will be built.

When completed, the outdoor complex will feature an expanded parking lot where the northwest baseball field currently is, four resurfaced tennis courts and paved walking trails leading to a pavilion that will offer outdoor fitness-goers a place to rest and shade from the sun.

The fore-mentioned is part of a larger proposed project that will eventually include a dog park, nature trails, covered seating at the northeast baseball field and landscaping throughout the complex.

"It will be a very nice area to enjoy," said John Seamon, 49th CONS Contracting Officer. "[The project] will take bare, desert dirt and turn it into a user-friendly fitness complex with walking trails, trees and nice landscaping. It will really tie that area together."

Mr. Seamon then added that this is just one of 89 projects going on right now to improve Team Holloman's quality of life and infrastructure.

"This is the start of a plan to make the fitness complex more the center of family recreation, and hopefully we'll get to the point where squadron and group events are held at the complex, "said Forrest Kester, 49th CES Programs Flight chief.

The outdoor complex will be completed in phases. Phase one will include a pavilion, resurfaced tennis courts and walking trails, and is scheduled for completion by June 2011.

Mr. Kester said the 49th Programs Flight has had the idea for an outdoor fitness complex for some time, but only recently made the idea a reality when Robby Byard, 49th CES Community Planner, had his design chosen over two different concepts.

"[The outdoor fitness complex] was really a morphing concept," said Mr. Kester. "We designed a bigger project with smaller pieces that could be split off as separate projects so we could get them done faster."

The entire outdoor fitness complex project is scheduled for completion in either 2012 or 2013.