Facilities | Nelson Recreation Center

The Nelson Recreation Center serves as a multi-purpose facility, primarily used for indoor tennis and intramurals. A new surface was installed with lines for several sports, including four tennis courts as well as badminton and volleyball. The north end of the facility has one pickleball court. The south end of the facility is home to Middlebury's climbing wall. Increased lighting and three offices were also part of the renovation.

In the fall of 2018, PlaySight, a connected camera and artificial intelligence sports technology company, was installed on each of the four tennis courts. It allows teams and players to view practice and match videos and provides feedback from an analytical perspective. It also provides automatic production capabilities including scoreboard integration and graphic overlays, as well as full tracking of games without the need for a camera operator.

New cameras were installed in the fall of 2023. 

The Duke Nelson Arena was home to Middlebury's men's and women's varsity ice hockey for 50 years. The arena hosted the 1995 and 1997 NCAA Division III National Championships, as well as the 1996, 1997 and 1998 ECAC Alliance Championships. The arena was enlarged and renovated in 1983 and contained one of the largest ice surfaces in the division. At 200 x 90 feet, the skating surface is just five feet short of Olympic dimensions. The rink accommodated up to 1,800 spectators and was converted to its current use in 2002.