Fort Wainwright cuts ribbon on new activity center

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU) - Servicemembers and their families at Fort Wainwright now have a new place to get together for food, activities and social gatherings.

In a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Dec. 20, officials introduced the nearly 38,000-square-foot City Center Community Activity Center, which sits next to the commissary on base.

Speakers at the ceremony included U.S. Army Fort Wainwright Garrison Commander Col. Jason Cole, who called the new facility “remarkable” and said it’s been in the works since 2019.

“It represents the best of what we can achieve when we come together to support the needs of our soldiers' families in the Fort Wainwright community,” Cole said.

According to Angela Coltellaro, The business recreation officer with Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, many of the features incorporated into the facility came from input given by soldiers during planning.

“We have something here at our facility for all ages. We have something from toddlers all the way to adults. We have our dedicated toddler space. We have something for our teens, our tweens,” she said.

Coltellaro said Fairbanks sees a unique need for indoor activities due to the cold weather.

“We needed a place where the community could come together and meet people,” she added.

Activities at the center — which cost a little over $41 million — include a fitness room, arcade games, pinball machines, food, bowling, and a play area for children.

While some features — like the children’s play area and the fitness center — are free to use, others like the arcade and bowling alley have an associated cost.

In order to have access to the building, one must have access to the base.

Pfc. Cody Fanara has been in Alaska for a year. He expressed surprise at having a building like this on base.

“I was honestly not expecting it at all, and now that I’ve seen it, it’s really good,” Fanara said.

Fanara said he plans to use the building and its services.

“This looks great. I love bowling and it looks like it has a great opportunity for a lot of people,” he said.

Fanara expects others will use the building as well, and it will get some people out of the barracks.

“There’s a lot of people that just sit in their room and kind of get down on themselves, and feel like with this opening up, it’s going to help a lot,” he said.

According to Fanara, it can be a struggle for some to serve in Alaska.

The facility is currently staffed at about 65%, according to Coltellaro.

The base is still waiting on some items, including more arcade games. According to Coltellaro, those are expected by the end of January.

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