A three-year plan to renovate the student recreation center at the University of Colorado-Boulder is starting to bear fruit, with a new pool now on campus and new tennis courts slated to be operational at the end of July. The pool has been a focal point of the project, as it is uniquely shaped to resemble a charging buffalo, the university’s mascot.
In April 2011, more than 70 percent of students at the university voted to increase student fees in support of a $63.5 million recreation center overhaul. In addition to the pool and tennis courts, the overhaul has resulted in a strength and conditioning space double its original size, a much larger group exercise and fitness studio, a new ice rink, a refurbishing of existing gym spaces, a new climbing gym and bouldering wall, and a renovation of locker rooms, lobbies, and meeting spaces.
“Like many other universities, the University of Colorado at Boulder has recognized the need for a top-notch exercise facility,” said Eric Willin, COO of EZFacility, a fitness center management software developer in Woodbury, New York. “Prospective students weigh exercise facilities carefully when they’re comparing universities and deciding which one to attend. If a school lacks decent space with high-quality equipment and an array of classes and other offerings, prospectives go elsewhere. Also, as demonstrated by the buffalo-shaped pool, a school’s rec center is a mark of pride — it’s a center for school spirit.”
Annie Mulvaney, assistant director of marketing and external relations for Colorado’s recreation service, told the university’s newspaper, the Boulder Daily Camera, that the recreation center received some criticism for spending extra money on an elaborately shaped pool that, being outdoors, will be open for only a short time each year. But she noted that it’s a feature students have supported heartily.
Major Overhaul of University of Colorado-Boulder Rec Center
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