MLC breaks ground for new athletic facility
Martin Luther College (MLC), New Ulm, Minn., broke ground on a new athletic facility, the Betty Kohn Fieldhouse, in April.
MLC administration, coaches, and students participated in the event, one which Rev. Richard Gurgel, MLC president, calls a milestone. “For many months God was moving the hearts of our brothers and sisters around the synod —with their gifts and their prayers and their encouragement to others—to build a foundation, a financial one and a spiritual one, for this day,” he says.
Hundreds of gifts, including one transformational donation, allowed construction to begin.
The 36,000-square-foot indoor turfed facility, which features large practice areas, baseball/softball batting cages, golf simulators, and locker rooms, will support a year-round physical education curriculum, enable spring sports to practice regularly, allow for additional intramural offerings, and create community connections. Plans are for students to be able to use the new athletic center by the beginning of 2022.
Jordyn Heckendorf, a first-year physical education major at MLC, took part in the groundbreaking event. “The new Betty Kohn Fieldhouse is a dream come true!” she says. “As an athlete and child of God, I am always looking for ways to let my light shine through the skills God has blessed me with, and this fieldhouse gives me the opportunity to do just that. To all the people who generously donated to make this possible, I want you to know that we will not take this for granted.”
The building is part of the facility improvement pillar of the “Equipping Christian Witnesses” campaign, which has the goal to help train a corps of Christian witnesses to meet WELS ministry needs in the future. Learn more about the campaign at mlc-wels.edu/mlc-campaign.
WELS members can continue to support, encourage, and thank MLC graduates—from this year and from the past—by participating in MLC Day on May 5. Send messages, photos, and videos to congratulate 2021 graduating class members and thank MLC graduates from the past 25 years for their kingdom work. WELS members also can offer prayers and monetary support for MLC’s ministry. All gifts go toward the Congregational Partner Grant Matching Fund, which directly matches gifts up to $1,000 from churches for their students. Learn more at mlcday.com.
