New Student Recreation Center now ready for workouts

KU's new 100,000-square-foot Student Recreation Fitness Center will offer more than just great exercise; it also will feature something few gyms do: a view.

The center, scheduled to open Sept. 15, sits just south of Watkins Memorial Health Center and features floor-to-ceiling windows that span much of the building's exterior.

Mary Chappell

"All of this is facing the Hill," said Mary Chappell, director of recreation services. "When I say the view is great, it really is."

But Chappell said the view was just the beginning. The new structure, which will replace Robinson Gymnasium as the University's recreation center, also will feature state-of-the-art equipment and expanded facilities, including 15,000 square feet of cardiovascular machinery, top-of-the-line free weights and a rock climbing wall created by nation's leading designer of indoor climbing apparatus.

The center also will include studios for aerobics and martial arts, a suspended track, racquetball/squash courts, indoor and outdoor basketball courts, food and vending areas and conference space.

Chappell said the building's design resulted from input provided by students, who voted in 1999 to impose a campus fee to pay for the new recreation center.

"Everything we have here is what the students wanted," Chappell said. "The area of fitness has grown, as well as everyone's perception of what it should be. A recreation center is now an expectation for students coming into the University."