The public is invited to attend Monday afternoon’s (Oct. 22) ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony at the Eau Claire YMCA’s recently acquired indoor sports center.
The event is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the former Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, 2456 Craig Rd. Tours of the building will be available following the ceremony.
The YMCA purchased the facility at the end of August. It will be named the L. E. Phillips YMCA Sports Center, in recognition of the Phillips family’s decade-long commitment to the YMCA and the Eau Claire community, according to a YMCA press release.
The YMCA will continue to run all of the Sports Center’s programs and the facility will also serve as the new home of YMCA Gymnastics.
“This is an exciting expansion for the YMCA. We look forward to integrating existing programs into the YMCA as we reach even more kids and adults throughout our community at this new location,” said Theresa Hillis, the YMCA’s executive director.
“It will also allow our popular gymnastics program the capability to expand programming and host large meets without having to transport equipment to a different location,” she added.
Scott Lau, president of the YMCA Board of Directors, noted that the L. E. Phillips Family Foundation has been a long-time supporter of the organization.
“Their generosity helped build the Main Lodge at Camp Manitou and the previous YMCA tennis and gymnastics center. They’ve continued their support by making annual gifts to support our financial assistance program,” he said. “As we contemplated the name of this new facility, it only seemed fitting to use this as an opportunity to thank the Foundation, and the Phillips and Cohen families, for their generosity.”