A $12 million expansion of Central College’s P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium will be celebrated later today.

The event at 5:30 this evening is open to the public and will be staged outside of the new main entrance on the south side of the building, located at the corner of West 5th Street and Independence Street. The new entrance includes a spacious atrium, expanded lobby, Hall of Honor and All-America corridor, highlighting more than 200 of the college’s most decorated student-athletes. An addition to the west created space for a new varsity locker room for men’s and women’s squads, a new wrestling room, and an enlarged area for a hitting cage for softball, baseball and golf.

The expansion is part of the Forever Dutch initiative, an ongoing series of athletics facilities improvements and additions. Fundraising is underway for the next phase, which will include complete renovation of the Kuyper Gymnasium interior spaces.