The Aquatic and Fitness Center will become even bigger and better with the Board of Visitors' approval of an $8 million expansion.
The AFC now measures about 99,000 square feet; the proposed 50,000 square foot expansion will increase its size by about 50 percent.
Three indoor basketball courts, an elevated indoor track and expanded free-weight and fitness space are included in the plans.
The expansion will turn the AFC into a "comprehensive facility" housing an all-inclusive array of modern facilities, said Ed Rivers, senior associate director of the AFC.
All new facilities will be up to par with current standards and embrace the latest fitness technology. It is particularly important to have a first-rate track because the banking, or sloping, of the track in Memorial Gym "makes it less functional," Rivers said.
An indoor track also will provide safer alternatives to joggers whose busy schedules force them to run at night, he said.
Original plans for the AFC actually included the expansion, said Capital Budget Manager Tom Leback. In anticipation of this addition, construction workers initially left part of the outer structure in cinderblock as opposed to the brick facade used on other parts of the building. The expansion will connect to the current structure at the cinderblock wall and extend into the area that is now a parking lot.
Leback said eliminating part of the parking lot will not present problems since the lot in front of the AFC was designed to alleviate temporary parking problems during the Scott Stadium expansion.
But Kacy Toberg, assistant director for informal recreation, said parking issues might need to be addressed, particularly during construction, when both lots in front of the AFC will be closed.
"Decisions still have to be made ... they just need to work out the logistics," Toberg said.
In its entirety, the expansion will cost $8 million, $5 million of which the state previously approved. The additional $3 million is required "to do it right and complete it properly," Leback said.
It is "a more efficient allocation of funds to do it all at once," rather than use the previously approved $5 million and then attempt to raise $3 million and complete the project later, he said.
Broken down to its components, the $8 million comes from $5.5 million in bonds, $2 million in University funds, and $500,000 from the Intramurals Department. The project will not require an increase in student fees.
Construction is slated to begin in August or September 2001 and is expected to require about 18 months to complete.
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