Fort McCoy’s Rumpel Fitness Center reopens May 1 after extensive renovation

Fort McCoy’s Rumpel Fitness Center will reopen May 1 with a grand-reopening ceremony at the facility after 18 months of renovation are now complete.

The grand reopening will take place at 7 a.m. May 1, said Marketing Director Liz Faber with the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation.

“The gym will be open for viewing following the ribbon-cutting from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.,” Faber said.

Faber said that also as part of the celebration, a 2-mile run/walk is slated for 7:20 a.m. at the center with registration starting at 6:30 a.m. on May 1.

“Participants will receive a complimentary T-shirt,” Faber said. “Non-race participants may purchase T-shirts for $15.”

Contractor R.J. Jurowski Construction Inc. of Whitehall, Wis., led the way with the renovation of the center, Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works (DPW) officials said. The project began Nov. 1, 2022.

The project included the exterior receiving new siding, roofing, and sidewalks as well as a storage addition. The interior received a full layout redesign that included locker rooms, cardio/stretching/equipment areas, and offices, said General Engineer Gareth Ferguson with the Fort McCoy DPW. There also is fresh paint throughout, a new entryway and vestibule, and a new redesigned pool.

Overall, it’s a multi-million-dollar renovation for the fitness center that’s never been done before, said Patric McGuane, director of Fort McCoy Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation. He said in 2022 right before the renovation began that it was needed.

DFMWR officials noted that the center was originally built in 1966, and it’s one of the oldest fitness centers in the Army Installation Management Command inventory.

“In the Army they say that physical readiness is the cornerstone of Soldier readiness, and by extension, Army readiness,” DFMWR officials stated in a message to the Fort McCoy community about the grand opening. “Physical readiness is the ability to meet the physical demands of any duty or combat role. … Fort McCoy trains thousands of troops each year and each one of them must be physically ready to meet the demands of their training here with us.

“Part of that readiness entails relying on the fitness center to keep them physically fit during their stay with us,” the message states. “Rumpel Fitness Center is the main fitness center on Fort McCoy and therefore is the cornerstone of Fort McCoy physical fitness.”

Building 1395 on post has served as an alternative fitness center since 2022. Fort McCoy DFMWR officials said they will keep that facility as an auxiliary facility to Rumpel in the future.

Besides the new work that’s been done, Rumpel will also be stocked with new equipment, has improved lighting, increased cardio space, and just has an overall new look and layout, officials said.

Work like this project also helps supports the economic impact to local economies as well, Fort McCoy Garrison officials said. Since fiscal year (FY) 2019, tens of millions of dollars in construction funds have been counted by the Fort McCoy Plans, Analysis, and Integration Office as a key factor and contributor to the installation’s annual economic impact each fiscal year.

In fact, in those five years combined, more than $217 million has been calculated in new construction of buildings and ranges alone, reports show. Over that same time, more than $1.3 billion has also been applied to operating costs that included utilities, physical plant maintenance, repair and improvements, other new construction projects (like this project), purchases of supplies and services, and salaries for civilian contract personnel working at Fort McCoy.

Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.”

Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.

The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”

Also try downloading the Digital Garrison app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”