Related Articles
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA — Regent University officially broke ground Friday on a new $50 million Athletic & Fitness Center, a project school leaders say has been nearly 50 years in the making.
Chancellor Gordon Robertson, son of Regent’s founder, the late Dr. Pat Robertson, was among several speakers at the ceremony held on the site where the multi-sport facility will rise over the next 18 months.
“What God has done is nothing short of a miracle,” Robertson told CBN News. “Every single building you see on campus was built when the accountant said, you don’t have the money. You can’t do this. But God always provided.”
The Chancellor shared a personal memory that dates to the 1970s, when his father first brought him to what was then undeveloped land.
“I remember looking around saying, ‘Dad, this is swamp land,'” Robertson recalled. “And here we are 45 years later.”
The 31-acre complex will include a 2,000-seat arena, fitness center, sports medicine clinic, an NCAA-certified track & field, and multiple venues for soccer, baseball, and softball — all connecting to student housing on campus.
For years, Regent has operated without a dedicated athletic hub. Sports teams have practiced and competed across a patchwork of local high schools and city-owned facilities. That will soon change.
“We’ve been very blessed and fortunate to have those partnerships to help us run our athletic departments the last nine years,” said Athletic Director Michael Allen. “But this is going to be a game changer for Regent University — especially for our athletic department — by having these on-campus facilities.”
For Chancellor Robertson, the $50 million project is more than just a construction milestone.
“This was all done by God. When He asked my father to build a university for His glory, He fully was backing that word, but He wanted this facility — He wanted Regent University to be for His glory. And so that’s what we’re doing today. We’re dedicating it to Him. We’re dedicating it to His glory.”
Director Allen said the facility is scheduled for completion between April and June of 2027, with plans for it to be fully operational for student-athletes by the fall semester.
“I believe in 1 Peter 2:9, our Bible verse where we got our nickname: ‘We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood’ — and that’s where the name ‘Regent Royals‘ came from,” said Director Allen. “We don’t take that lightly, and we talk to our student-athletes about how they are the biggest walking billboards for this university — whether they believe that or not. And we talk to them consistently about embracing the core values of Regent and doing everything with excellence as a student-athlete.”
He added, “We just want all of our student-athletes to exemplify a high character, integrity, and to embrace those core values of Regent University. That’s what we dubbed the Royal Way. And that’s really what being a Royal is all about.”
Source link
