Wellness + Helfaer Recreation: official name set for reimagined Rec Center

When it opens in early 2025, the facility will bring together student health, wellness and recreation services currently dispersed across campus

The reimagined Helfaer Tennis Stadium and Recreation Center (Rec Center) currently under renovation and construction on the southwestern edge of campus will be officially named Wellness + Helfaer Recreation when it opens in early 2025, university officials announced today.

The name honors the legacy naming gift from the Evan and Marion Helfaer Foundation nearly 50 years ago to build the Rec Center; the foundation in December 2022 committed a $2 million gift toward the current renovation.

When it opens, the approximately 180,000-square-foot Wellness + Helfaer Recreation facility will bring together campus fitness and recreation facilities with the Counseling Center and the Marquette University Medical Clinic — centralizing student services currently dispersed across campus.

Wellness + Helfaer Recreation will provide a 25% increase in recreational space and nearly double the wellness and medical space offered on campus today. A new, 30,000-square-foot, centralized three-story wellness tower, including the Lovell Center for Student Well-being, will integrate the university’s student health, wellness and recreation services. The facility will foster community, inclusiveness and engagement, and provide a destination on campus that supports the physical and mental health needs of the Marquette community.