The Student Government Association at the
University of Memphis has approved a fee increase to fund construction of a new 192,500-square-foot Student Recreation and Fitness Center on Southern Avenue north of the existing center.
"The Student Recreation and Fitness Center has become a vital part of students' lives and health on our campus, and vividly demonstrates the mind-body connection,” said Dr. Rosie Phillips Bingham, Vice President for Student Affairs, in a prepared statement. "Individuals who take good care of their physical selves are better able to tackle the rigors of academic life. Further, the recreation center provides a point of connection between students and the University."
The facility will feature a main four-court divisible gym, six racquetball courts, a multi-purpose fitness center with a climbing wall, a natatorium with a recreational pool and lane pool, an outdoor leisure pool, lockers, classrooms and training rooms. There also will be a two-court gym, a quarter-mile indoor track, a wellness and nutrition area, juice bar, offices and large group exercise areas. Outdoors there will three full-size turf fields, basketball courts and tennis courts. A land bridge will make the center accessible from the northern part of the campus.
The center will be funded by a student fee increase of $307 for 2014-2015. This is part of a mandatory fee structure, and the increase comes on the heels of an announcement that in-state tuition, for the first time in 22 years, will not be increased. Moreover, out-of-state tuition will be decreased by $3,000 to $10,000. The difference is due to the new 250-R Program, allowing for high school graduates within a 250-mile radius of Memphis to see the larger decrease. Current data shows that 54 percent of out-of-state students attending the University of Memphis remain in the region after graduation.
"The reduction in out-of-state fees will allow us to be more competitive so that we can educate and retain more students in the Memphis area upon graduation," said University President M. David Rudd in a prepared statement.
"Students who feel a sense of belonging on the campus are more likely to stay through graduation," Bingham said. "Our students like that sense of connection; they like using the rec center, and they wanted a center that was up to date and provides more room for the growing numbers of students who use the facility. I believe they will be very pleased with the new, modern recreation center."
Construction on the fitness center will be done in three phases, with the center scheduled to open in 2018.
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