Last Friday marked the groundbreaking of the upcoming George S. Eccles Student Life Center.
The center will be an updated recreational facility that includes five sports courts, swimming pools, a running track, cardio and weight-lifting areas, a climbing wall and an outdoor recreational program. The opening of the Student Life Center is estimated to be December 2014.
The U’s current recreational center, the Field House, was built in 1939, when the U consisted of less than 8,000 students. It was built to house 400 students a day. Now, the U has more than 30,000 students, and the Field House serves 1,500 students each day.
The Student Life Center is intended to be able to accommodate the ever-growing university, allowing a projected 3,500 students at the time to use its facilities comfortably, said Barbara Snyder, Vice President of Student Affairs.
U ambassadors, supporters and students gathered Friday afternoon to celebrate the groundbreaking of the state-of-the-art recreational center on campus.
The Student Life Center is intended to be more than a gym, but a place where students come together, build friendships and become closer as a campus community.
“The new Student Life Center will be the centerpiece of a holistic campus where students will grow stronger academically, socially and physically. The Student Life Center will elevate campus life with activities that build campus community and encourage life-long health and fitness,” Snyder said.
At the ceremony, President David Pershing expressed his shared perspective of the Student Life Center improving students’ lives.
“Through the Student Life Center, we hope that all of you who are students will discover that, in fact, the university education is about more than just classrooms, textbooks and lectures. It’s about the development of a whole person,” Pershing said.
Jim Macfarlane, co-chairman of the Student Life Center campaign committee, also considers the future center to be a significant part of students’ college experience.
“With all this building will offer, it will certainly become a gathering place where the campus community can connect and the students can interact with one another. This building is much more than an exercise building,” Macfarlane said. “I assure you, this will be a place where students will come to for many other reasons.”
Neela Pack, former president of ASUU, expressed her excitement for the Student Life Center and trusts it will be a centerpiece on campus.
“This building is really going to be a social highlight on our campus. Not only will it be extremely beneficial to us for our physical health and wellness, but it [will] also be a place for new friendships, and it will give us opportunities to interact with each other,” Pack said. “We kind of lack that sometimes on this campus.”
Spencer Eccles, a major donor to the U and campus, believes the Student Life Center is going to be an amazing and impactful piece of campus.
“I am convinced as ever we’re breaking ground on what’s going to be a fantastic facility, state-of-the-art, best in the nation,” he said. “We know the entire university student body and the many years of student leaders have remained steadfastly dedicated and committed to building a student life center.”