With support from a $1.3 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Authority (FEMA), dignitaries broke ground on the West Plains campus of Missouri State University for a new multipurpose student recreation center and emergency shelter.
Missouri State University Student Recreation Center (Rendering courtesy of Missouri State University)With support from a $1.3 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Authority (FEMA), dignitaries broke ground on the West Plains campus of Missouri State University for a new multipurpose Student Recreation Center and emergency shelter. The remaining $900,000 required for the construction of the 10,000-square-foot facility is coming from a $25 increase in student fees, which the student body recently approved by a three-to-one margin. Aside from providing a tornado shelter for students, staff and anyone else within a five mile radius, the recreation center will feature a gymnasium for basketball and volleyball, as well as a racquetball court. The facility, designed by Dake Wells Architecture of Springfield, Mo., is expected to be completed this fall.
First Pitch
The Bound Brook, N.J., borough council has approved a $1.1 million bond for construction of a new recreation center - including an indoor basketball court and locker rooms - at Codrington Park. . .
By a mere 100-vote margin, voters in Rutland, Vt., have approved a $3.9 million bond to upgrade the city's recreation department, including building a new recreation center. . .
Responding to the growth of the Jewish population in northern Palm Beach County, Fla., the Jewish Community Center of the Greater Palm Beaches is planning to build a new $15 million, 37,000-square-foot center. . .
Regents at the University of New Mexico have approved a $3 million bond to demolish the existing baseball field - located just south of the school's iconic basketball venue, the Pit - and replace it with a new 900-seat baseball stadium. . .
Regents have approved proceeding with plans for a $13 million sports complex at Iowa State University that would provide facilities for the women's soccer and softball programs, and the men's and women's track and field programs. . .
The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor has selected an architect to move forward with plans for a new $22 million, 10,000-spectator-capacity football stadium that will be built adjacent to a new student center. . .
A $5 million gift from a former University of Virginia volleyball player has spurred movement on a $14 million plan to renovate the university's track and field facilities to include seating for 1,500 spectators, lights, a scoreboard, team locker rooms, an entrance plaza and column features similar to those found on other campus athletic facilities.
Grand Openings
Everett Community College Student Fitness Center (Photo courtesy of Everett Community College)Everett Community College has celebrated the opening of its new Student Fitness Center, replacing a gym built in 1958. The $19.5 million, 49,000-square-foot facility includes classrooms for physical education and health programs, a gym with retractable bleacher seating for 2,250 spectators, a fitness center, a climbing wall, a running track, a juice bar, a smaller multipurpose gym, and offices for faculty and staff. The center also includes space for intercollegiate athletics and intramurals, supporting EvCC's more than 250 athletes participating in nine league sports. The school salvaged part of the old gym floor and bricks and incorporated them into the design of the new center, while large areas of operable windows, vents and skylights work with double-high spaces to provide abundant natural light and ventilation. Open, flexible spaces accommodate a wide range of activities that can be seen and heard throughout the building. . .
Colorado State University Student Recreation Center (Photo courtesy of Colorado State University)Students at Colorado State University are benefitting from a $32 million expansion and renovation of the Rams' Student Recreation Center. The project added 65,000 new square feet of program space to what is now a 175,000-square-foot facility featuring two 38-foot-tall climbing towers, a bouldering wall and cave, four new fitness studios, massage rooms, and a new entrance and lobby with a smoothie bar. Other additions or renovations include a 24,000-square-foot fitness area, a multiactivity court, an outdoor adventure resource room, renovated locker rooms, a refurbished indoor track and multiple new meeting spaces. The final stage of the project, completed in April, was the renovation of the indoor pool area, which now includes a zero-depth entry, fountains and spray features, a four-lane lap area, a 35-person spa, a lazy river/current channel, a shallow activity area for basketball, a 12-foot climbing wall, and on-deck sauna and steam rooms. . .
Central Park Recreation Center at Stapleton (Photo courtesy of Sink Combs Dethlefs)The product of an intergovernmental agreement between the city of Denver and the Park Creek Metro District, the $19 million Central Park Recreation Center at Stapleton opened in February. The 57,000-square-foot facility features a college-sized basketball court, fitness areas on two levels, a group exercise room, a group cycling studio, drop-in childcare space and community rooms. The indoor pool area includes a four-lane lap pool with a slide, an activity pool with a zero-depth entry and a lazy river with spray features.
