The new 50,000-square-foot addition to the Aquatic and Fitness Center opened June 1, featuring three new basketball courts, an elevated track and numerous multi-purpose rooms open for use by the University community.
The $10 million enhancement also created additional rooms for free weights, massage, cardiovascular equipment, spinning/cycling and three new multi-purpose rooms for dance, aerobics or yoga.
The new space was planned for in the original blueprints for the 1996 construction of the AFC. The most popular of the University's recreational facilities, the AFC has seen 3.5 million visits in the last eight years, Director of Intramural Sports Mark Fletcher said.
"We have 94 percent of our students using University recreational facilities -- one of the highest rates in the country -- so our students have proved that they use this kind of space and want this kind of space," Fletcher said.
Similar to its 80-year-old predecessor, Memorial Gymnasium, the new addition features three basketball courts lined up side-by-side, with scoreboards for each court. The floor is marked for both basketball and volleyball and is circled above by a flat track -- 10 laps to the mile and made with a spring-loaded surface.
Setting it apart from the other recreational facilities at the University, the new building is completely air-conditioned and features many tall windows that bring natural sunlight to the space.
"With the completion of phase 2, it's clearly one of the finest collegiate recreational facilities in the country," Fletcher said.
While the major construction is finished, Nielson -- the contractor for the project -- is still on site, completing finishing touches as construction continues in the back of the building on a chiller plant directly under the gymnasium, according to Project Manager Mashal Alfredi.
The five-chiller plant -- overseen by contracting Sullivan -- is intended to service new buildings at the Engineering School, the new O'Hill dining facility and other anticipated new structures at the University. Construction on the plant is expected to continue through August and temporarily affect parking in the back area, Alfredi said.
"One of the reasons we decided to build it big and plan for future capacity is that it will never be cheaper," Alfredi said. "It saved the University a ton of money by doing it at this time."
While a formal grand opening of the AFC addition is planned for the fall when students return, the new space is open and enjoying lots of use.
"We're very excited about the completion and that we see it's already getting use," Fletcher said. "I think the folks that have been over there to see it have been very complementary."
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