MACON - You will have to travel far and wide to find anything comparable to the brand new $40 million University Center at Mercer. The University Center and Griffin B. Bell Board Room were dedicated April 15. R. Kirby Godsey, president and CEO of the university, presided over the ceremony and indicated that the 230,000-square-foot building will become the signature facility on the university’s Macon campus.

The imposing structure is designed to bring together students for recreational, intramural and wellness activities as well as athletic events in state-of-the-art facilities that include a coffee shop, food court, tables featuring Internet access, entertainment venue, and meeting rooms.

The arena and athletic areas were opened in time for the Mercer Bear’s basketball team to host three games before the end of the season. The seating capacity in the arena for athletic events is 3,200 and 4,500 for special events. There are three luxury sky boxes in the arena, each with a seating capacity for 20 persons.

Other areas of the University Center include an exercise room equipped with Life Fitness equipment and six televisions, three intramural basketball/volleyball courts with Connor maple hardwood floors, an elevated 1/8-mile running track with mondo running floor and a 75-foot, six-lane indoor lap pool with handicap lift.

The Center contains Heritage Hall, which is a permanent exhibit of Mercer-related historical and athletic memorabilia. The adjacent President’s Dining Room is lavishly appointed and equipped with projector, screen and sound system.

Perhaps the most singularly striking room in the University Center is the Griffin B. Bell Board Room, which was appropriately dedicated to the man who served his country as a judge for fourteen years on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and as the 72nd attorney general of the United States.

Judge Bell was also recognized at the dedication for his longtime service as a trustee and benefactor of Mercer. He has effectively served as chairman of the board of trustees and currently serves as the general chairman of the university’s successful $350 million “Advancing the Vision” Campaign.

Those who gathered at the University Center on April 15 stated in the litany: “We commit this naming and dedication to the service of all mankind and to the ultimate glory of God on this fifteenth day of April in the year of our Lord two thousand four.”