‘BUFF Up The REC’ a hot issue on CU campus

The Rec Center at CU is one of the most crowded buildings on campus. Starting to look rundown and old, the CU Student Government has initiated the “BUFF Up The REC” campaign, a project to expand and renovate the Rec Center.

A 2009 feasibility study was conducted to assess the facilities needs and compare it to the national and regional standards for campus recreation centers. The study found that the Rec has $130 million in unmet facility needs, as well as a $25 million in needed maintenance. The proposed budget for the campaign is $63.5 million.

Cheryl Kent, co-chair of the campaign, says the budget will not come from state funds or tuition fees.

“It is 100 percent student fee funded. That’s why you’ll see that the associated student fee range from 120 to 125 dollars a semester, and that will essentially cover 25 years of bond repayment and operating costs for improvements to the Rec Center.”

The proposed project would double the size of fitness areas, including cardio, circuit and free weight rooms. It would add basketball courts and multi-purpose rooms for aerobics, martial arts, and spin classes, renovate the ice rink and the pool, as well as building an outdoor social pool. The project also plans to redo the outdoor tennis courts and build a new multi-sport indoor turf gym.

The initiative for expansion and renovations came from the fact that student recreation participation at CU is ten percent higher than the national average, but the space per student is 30 to 42 percent lower.

CU ranks last in the Big 12 conference in basketball courts and outdoor field space, and 10th in space per student.

The campaign will go to a student vote April 4th through 8th, and if passed, the construction will begin in Spring 2012 with the newly renovated Rec Center scheduled to open Fall 2013.

If the vote is not passed during the student government elections in April, the $25 million in deferred maintained will have to be attended to within a five to ten year window. Also programs could be cut, including a closing of the Rec Center ice rink.

For more information about the proposed expansion and renovations of the CU Rec Center, visit BuffUpTheRec.com.