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With the recent approval of a new recreational center at the University of Maine, students will soon have facilities designed specifically for intramural and recreational activities at their disposal.
According to Student Body President and Board of Trustees member Matthew Rodrigue, a significant number of the programs and events Rec Sports now sponsors will join together in this new facility and no longer be splintered across campus. Currently, Rec Sports uses Lengyel Gym, Latti Fitness Center and The Memorial Gym.
The new facility will be 85,000 square feet and will feature an indoor jogging track, a three-court gym, two multi-purpose rooms, two racquetball courts, a lap/leisure pool, a whirlpool and sauna, and a 12,500 square foot weight/fitness area. It will also house a juice bar, locker rooms and an equipment checkout zone.
According to a feasibility study conducted for the university by the research firm Brailsford & Dunlavey, the facility will be able to house 19 percent of the total campus population at any time.
To finance the center, a $25 million bond will be obtained by the university, and a flat fee will be assessed to all students. According to the feasibility study, 46 percent of students who completed a Rec Center survey last fall are in favor of a fee of $100 per semester. No fees will be charged to students’ accounts until the facility is open, according to Rodrigue. As of now, the facility will only be open for recreational use and will not be open for official Athletic Department events.
Several sites for the center are still under consideration and administration has not yet decided where to locate the facility, according to Janet Waldron, UMaine Vice President for Administration. Proposed sites include the tennis courts near Cutler Health Center and the grass field behind the Maine Center for the Arts lot. A total of five locations are under consideration.
A decision will be made shortly by the Planning Commission as to the exact location, but Rodrigue noted that planners are striving to find a central spot on campus easily accessible to all. There will be a public hearing to discuss the final location once the administration announces it, Rodrigue said.
Currently, the administration is in a bidding process for design and general contracting of the facility and is on budget. The project has generated no substantial costs as of yet, Rodrigue said. The Rec Center is scheduled to open in the fall of 2006.
