Moving College Rec Programming to Outdoor Spaces

Michael Popke Headshot
[Photo courtesy of Chico State Associated Students]
[Photo courtesy of Chico State Associated Students]

Moving your campus recreation center operations from a 250,000-square-foot building to a 4,000-square-foot outdoor tent isn't on any campus recreation director's wish list. But that's exactly what officials at the University of Oregon did earlier this year in the wake of a spike in coronavirus cases across the state.

They converted an outdoor space adjacent to the Student Recreation Center — a space known as "The Playground" and used for drop-in fitness programming during pre-pandemic times — into a makeshift strength and cardio training area complete with free weights, benches, non-electric stationary bikes and more. Half of the space is asphalt, while the other half is covered with synthetic turf installed several years ago. In addition to fitness activities, the space also hosted intramural cornhole and Spikeball competitions.

"After the uptick in cases, we were no longer able to keep the rec center open, so we had to decide what to do," says Brent Harrison, associate director for programs in Oregon's Department of Physical Education and Recreation. "We knew that activities in open-air spaces could continue to happen. So why not look at a tent, which allows for air flow and falls under the guidelines from the Oregon Health Authority?"

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