After one year and $16.3 million worth of construction and renovation, the Southwest Recreation Center is scheduled to reopen on Wednesday.
The center, which has been under construction since Aug. 25, is now 40,000 square feet larger than it was. Much of the preexisting space was also renovated, according to the UF RecSports website.
The project did not go over budget, and it met its planned opening date, according to David Bowles, director of RecSports.
On Aug. 24, RecSports is hosting the 2010 RecSports Extravaganza, which will exhibit UF’s many sports clubs, the massage therapy program, group lessons and what’s new at Southwest Rec.
The renovations added 15,000 square feet for cardio equipment, a .9-mile track, a new activity room to expand the group fitness program, a training center and a social lounge, Bowles said.
The center also renovated the locker rooms and added an office complex to make it easier for students to find all the organization’s services.
The added training center will provide space for fitness assessment, personal training, massage therapy and athletic training, while the social lounge will have big-screen TVs and couches. Its purpose, Bowles said, is to provide an area for students to “kick back and relax.”
The renovations were paid for with a fund created by a $2.44-per-credit fee on students. The fund is used to maintain, renovate and expand RecSports facilities, the Reitz Union, the O’Connell Center and the Student Health Care Center.
During the week, the center opens at 7 a.m. and stays open until 1 a.m. On Gator Nights, which start every Friday night and last until early Saturday morning, it stays open until 2 a.m., according to the RecSports website.
On the weekends, the center is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Southwest Recreation Center and the Student Recreation and Fitness Center offer group classes. The schedules for the classes can be viewed online at recsports.ufl.edu.
UF also owns Lake Wauburg, a recreational lake about eight and a half miles south of campus where
students can check out canoes, mountain bikes, discs, kayaks and paddle boats with a Gator 1 Card. Certification is needed to check out sailboats, jet skis and wakeboards.
Smaller on-campus athletic facilities include the Broward Outdoor Recreation Complex, located beside Broward Hall, and the Student Recreation and Fitness Center, located on the east side of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Aside from personal training, most services offered at RecSports facilities are free to students with Gator 1 Cards.
