To meet the desires of students and staff who are seeking more opportunities for recreation and exercise, many universities are constructing new facilities. Here are a few:
- The University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg plans to construct a student recreation and wellness center. Expected to be occupied by 2010, the proposed $20.5 million facility will be 69,000 square feet. The center will include amenities such as a fitness area, weight room, basketball courts, indoor track and multipurpose area. Students approved a referendum to increase their fees to cover the construction and operating cost of the center.
- A new Recreation and Wellness Center at Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., will provide about 360,000 square feet of recreational space. Proposed amenities for the project include eight regulation-size basketball courts, an indoor soccer space, racquetball courts, rock climbing wall, an outdoor leisure pool, fitness training areas, indoor track, exercise studio rooms, sand volleyball area and golf simulator rooms. Construction is scheduled to begin later this year and will be completed in 2011-2012. Students voted in February to increase their fees to pay for the project. The new fees imposed on students will be $50 a semester in summer 2009, and by fall 2012, it will rise to $200 a semester. Auburn plans to design and build the center to LEED standards.
- Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, N.Y., has broken ground on a new Campus Recreation Center. The $37.5 million 85,000 square-foot facility will have contemporary workout space, space for an intramural program and for sports club team practice and competition. Glass windows will span much of the exterior and will provide those on the outside with a view of the center's activities, including a three-court gym; an indoor multipurpose sport court; aerobic/martial arts rooms; spinning studio; cardiovascular, free weights, and weight machine area; jogging track; locker room facilities; and staff offices. The university says administrators and students have been working since 1999 to get the project going.
- The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque is planning to build a $48 million student recreation center. The facility would be a three-story building and would include a climbing wall, indoor running track, cardio and weight rooms, outdoor leisure pool, multipurpose rooms for indoor fitness such as martial arts, fitness classes, yoga, spin classes, indoor soccer, new locker rooms and other amenities. A survey of more than 3,200 students indicated they want a place where they can see and be seen, with more natural light and more healthful food choices.
Read the main story, "Athletic Fields," to learn more.
