According to Capital Projects Manager Cleve Carrens the $50 million and 120,000 square foot recreation center, which is located across from the Mullins Center, will be ready for use by the fall semester 2009.
This is the finalized drawing of the building set to be done by fall 2009.The current recreation centers on campus are Totman gymnasium (48-years-old) and Boyden gymnasium (44-years-old).
“It starts with someone having an idea for a need to be established and fulfilled,” Carrens said. “Eventually that idea gets to the Capital Asset Board and they either agree or don’t agree.”
Once the board agreed the plan was sent back for the pre planning stage. During this stage the planners decide if the project is a true need, where will it be placed, who does it affect, what are fire and plumbing issues, is the soil a problem? These are all issues, but of course the major issue is money.
“I need to emphasize that funding is a major portion of getting any project started and identifying who is paying for it,” Carrens said.
The majority of the funding is coming from the student fees, while the rest is from a combination of alumni and various campus departments. In the school year of 2007-2008 in-state students paid 3,063.50 per semester, while out-of-state students paid 4,241 per semester.
Since the students would be paying for the majority of the recreation center, the Student Affairs Research, Information and Systems sent out a survey during the spring semester of 1999 to find out if a new recreation center is necessary.
“[The survey] came back and said it’s a recreation center with free weights, basketball courts, track, indoor tennis, pools and it had a list of things they answered,” Carrens explained.
Once there was an understanding of what the students needs were, the designers (Sasaki Associates of Boston) went to the drawing board. Carrens explained that the designers gave several options to choose from based on the need of the students and the total cost.
Carrens said that the recreation center originally planned to have seven basketball courts, tennis courts, a weight area, a climbing wall, indoor track and a pool as the main features. Each option came with different price implication and different features.
Drawing of the new basketball courts. Courtesy UMass.edu“Board groups and committee’s meets and define what is that best option,” he said. “Every option in our case wasn’t a full seven courts of basketball, some had a pool some didn’t, some had five basketball courts, some didn’t have any tennis, and there was one with an indoor climbing wall. All these different options were reviewed. We unfortunately had to keep doing engineering reduction and building reduction until we got within the budget limitation.”
The features that will be seen in the new recreation center will be 22,000 square feet of weights and fitness with televisions throughout the area, a three lane indoor running track surrounding three hardwood basketball courts, nine badminton courts (3 games per court), three multi purpose rooms (one large room that can hold three fencing strips and a wrestling mat with a 50 foot radius) and locker rooms and showers.
It will even have a place for students to hang out when they are waiting for another class with a mall section that connects to the east part of the campus to the west part of campus. It contains a juice bar with a lounge area for those people that do not want to work out. It will also hold an administration wing for the recreation department.
It is hard for Carrens to compare this recreation center with nearby colleges like Connecticut, Boston College, New Hampshire and Boston University, however he is satisfied with the result.
“They’re all a little different so it’s not exactly apples to apples, but it’s clearly going to be a premier institution I think,” Carrens said. “It’s a very handsome building, its attractive, its well planned and laid out.”
As Carrens understand it right now, the recreation center will resemble the Boyden gymnasium operation, where students can access the center free by swiping in with their UCard. The 22,000 square foot workout area will be seven times larger than the current one in the Boyden gymnasium.
Once the operation is complete Carrens said there is a “phase two work” portion of the project. Carrens hopes to build other features that were not included in the final plan, but are still a high desire for the students.
“I know that there is a movement on campus that is very attractive to some to progress with the phase two,” Carrens said. “It is some day going to exist but it is not on capital plan at this point.”
Students fed up with UMass facilities; looking forward to new Campus Recreation Center
Many students have become frustrated with the limited space and overcrowded nature of both Boyden and Totman gymnasiums. It is no surprise that the University of Massachusetts broke ground on November 2, 2007 to build a new recreation center.
“Totman gym is falling apart,” sophomore Connor Keaveny said. “It’s like a dungeon in there.”
Growing student discontent over the conditions of fitness facilities surfaced when the university surveyed students in 1999 to assess the need for a new gym. Based on the survey, “They [the designers] had an idea of what the student need was,” said Capital Projects Manager, Cleve Carrens.
“I am so relieved that we’re getting a new gym next year,” junior Mark Grappi said. “I never even want to exercise anymore because Boyden is always so crowded that I never get a legitimate work out. It’s just what I was hoping for.”
The entire 120,000 square foot project will cost approximately $50 million, with most of its funding generated from student fees. The new building is being constructed on the east side of Commonwealth Avenue across from the Mullins center.
Construction started back on November 2, 2007 and will open in September 2009.According to the UMass Office of News and Information, President Jack M. Wilson said. “Our students deserve the best facilities, including a modern, multi-purpose campus recreation center. UMass Amherst has been experiencing an unprecedented building boom that includes upgrading existing buildings and the construction of new ones. This facility was designed with considerable interest and planning input from the students themselves, and it is yet another symbol of the University’s commitment to providing an excellent student experience, both inside and outside the classroom.”
Rivaling Boyden’s six basketball courts and Totman’s two, the new recreation center originally planned to boast seven basketball courts, an indoor track and pool, tennis courts, weight room, and a climbing wall, as well as a juice bar and lounge. After some budget crunching, the facility is set to feature weights and cardio with surrounding televisions, a three lane indoor running track, three hardwood basketball courts, nine badminton courts, three multi purpose rooms, locker rooms and showers and a juice bar.Currently, Boyden gymnasium houses intercollegiate athletics as well as campus recreation programs including intramural sports. Once the new recreation center is built, it will serve to separate student recreation from the student-athlete training center, news that pleases many students.
“I always thought it was unfair that we couldn’t use the nicer weight rooms because they were reserved for the lacrosse players or the baseball players,” sophomore Ben Bianchi said. “Just because we’re not on college sports teams doesn’t mean we don’t play and have to train for sports, now we’ll have a nicer space of our own.”However, not every student is as enthusiastic about the soon to be recreation center.
“Personally, I’m not excited,” senior Alex Hughes said. “It’s great for everyone else but I’ve had to deal with the horrible conditions at Boyden the past four years and now they decide to build a fancy new gym right as I graduate.”
For many students and seniors the construction has been more of a purposeless hassle than anything else. For the marching band, the heavy construction on Commonwealth Ave has blocked the path to Boyden fields, the site of their practice.
“Now, it’s going to take longer because we have to go up from the field through that parking lot up past the police station down towards Thompson and back around,” drum line player Lino Amado said. “Little by little our space is being invaded and we’re just being kind of pushed off.” Regardless of student annoyances, the project will continue throughout the summer to ensure the plans for fall opening.
“It should be a really exciting place, and it’s large in its square footage,” Carrens said. Overall, many students are preparing for the convenience and new features that the recreation center will offer.
“I can’t wait,” junior Brad Nowers said. “It’s going to be the coolest building on campus.”
Seeing where the project is at
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