The James B. Dworkin Sports Center and Athletics Complex on the North Central Campus of PNW will provide students, faculty and the community a place they can use for various recreational activities.

The Dworkin Center was created in honor of James B. Dworkin, former chancellor of PNC, who retired on June 30. The center cost $33 million to construct.

Tom Albano, associate athletic director for Compliance for PNW, indicated that the Dworkin Center was constructed with students in mind.

“This building is a major game-changer for student life at the North Central site,” Albano said.

According to Albano, the Dworkin Center will be used by student clubs and organizations as well as North Central for many of their offered programs. It will house a new state-of-the-art two-floor fitness facility with an indoor track and aerobics rooms for additional fitness programs as well as a game room, veteran’s center, walk-in clinic, and a hall for conferences, banquets and performances. The Dworkin Center also contains a two-court gymnasium — one performance, one practice — for commencement, intramurals and intercollegiate athletics.

Due to the unification between Calumet and North Central, the Dworkin Center will be one of two homes for the Purdue Northwest Pride, specifically the men’s and women’s basketball teams and the volleyball team. The basketball and volleyball teams will practice and compete equally on both the Calumet and North Central campuses.

“PNW basketball and volleyball will split their home court to include both the Calumet and North Central sites. Fifty percent of home contests and practices will be played at each site during this first year of unification to allow athletes, fans and staff to equally attend contests for PNW and support our teams while allowing for our athletes to equally share in the amount of travel time between the two,” Albano said.

The volleyball team will be playing on the North Central Campus on August 25. Before the Dworkin Center was created, the North Central campus lacked the facilities to host competitive collegiate activities. The soccer, softball and baseball teams will also have occasional workouts there.

The Dworkin Center will not be exclusive to just PNW students, but rather it will be open to the North Central community as a whole. Rick Costello, athletic director for Compliance for Purdue Northwest, said the center offers activities for non-students. Community members, faculty and staff will be able to partake in the center’s amenities and activities.

According to Costello, The Dworkin Center will be a hub of activities for PNW students, faculty, staff and the community. Community members will be able to participate in athletic camps, fitness center activities, and external activities held at Dworkin as well as events in the Great Hall. Community members can also purchase membership for the fitness center.

“The Dworkin Center is a wonderful legacy to the influence Chancellor Dworkin has had on the North Central campus. [Dworkin] worked extremely hard to convince many individuals of the importance of this building to the North Central campus and now Purdue University Northwest,” Costello said.